Hey Everyone,
Paul here…
DC superhero films that have come out over the past several years have been a mixed bag to put it politely. However, there is reason to hope on the horizon. There has been a major shake up at Warner Brothers, the company that owns DC. They have a new head honcho. A man named David Zasla is the new Warners CEO nad he’s looking to make some big changes, for the better. First of all, they want to create an in-house DC Studios, so they can completely produce and create their own films. Like Marvel Studios has since the first Iron Man movie in 2008. He’s already been cleaning house DC Entertainment. Cancelling several TV shows and projects that don’t work or have long overstayed their welcome. Change can be a very good thing in a situation like this and the slate of films coming down the pipe from DC are pretty exciting.
BLACK ADAM
One project that I’m most looking forward to is Black Adam, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the titular character. Warner Bros./DC have just dropped a new trailer, so let’s take a closer look…
Black Adam is a fantastic character. Not somebody easily classified as a hero or a villain. More of an anti-hero. But a great character nonetheless. While I don’t think this is a particularly spectacular trailer, the first teaser was much, much better, I was already sold on this film and I think there’s a lot of reasons to be optimistic about this movie.
Because Black Adam rides that line between villain and anti-hero, I love how the “antagonists” of the movie are the superheroes Teth-Adam (his real name) faces off with in the comics. It’s a brilliant reversal on the hero/villain dynamic that we haven’t quite seen before in a superhero film. The superheroes in question are The JSA or Justice Society, the team that bump heads with Black Adam most frequently.
It’s a really cool line up, too! With Pierce Brosnan playing Dr. Fate, along side characters like Hawkman (played by Aldis Hodge), Atom Smasher, and Cyclone. I even think the JSA character designs are done very well. In fact, Black Adam looks spot on as well. Based on what I’ve seen in the trailers so far, I really dig the film’s aesthetic.
It should also be noted that Black Adam has major ties the character Shazam/Billy Batson. 2019’s SHAZAM! was one of the better DC movies to hit theaters over the last few years. Shazam and Black Adam are large parts of each other’s mythologies. If the upcoming sequel, SHAZAM!: Fury of The Gods, is a success, we should expect these characters to cross paths in the near future. In fact, I’ll be surprised if Black Adam doesn’t feature a cameo or some other major reference to Shazam. I’m really intrigued to see how it’ll all play out on the big screen. Check out the trailer here:
THE SANDMAN
Next up, we have the new trailer for the upcoming Netflix series based on Neil Gaiman‘s The Sandman! The Sandman is by far one of my absolute favorite comic books of all time. It’s a story that I find myself coming back to over and over again. I tend to re-read it every few years and I always discover something new in the story that I didn’t notice before. It’s a true masterpiece of the medium. I knew that The Sandman series was premiering in 2022, they already dropped a teaser trailer, but I thought it was odd that we hadn’t heard anything else about a specific release date. No behind the scenes footage or other promotional material. Well, now we have an official trailer to announce the release date, confirming a 2022 release. The trailer reveals we’re going to be seeing it much sooner rather than later, premiering August 5th on Netflix.
It’ll be very interesting to see how this show plays out. It seems to be both a very faithful adaptation, taking images straight off the page, while also deviating from the comic in some other major ways. Which is fine, in fact most times, it’s a good thing. Often, it’s the best way to tackle a project like this. When adapting something from one medium to another, some things that work on the comic book page don’t always work on screen, necessitating changes in the translation. I think the important things like the actor cast in the role of Morpheus AKA Dream of The Endless AKA the titular Sandman, Tom Sturridge, seems perfect for the role. The visuals seem spectacular and the tone appears to be spot on. So I’m optimistic. However, I have a feeling this is either going to be brilliant, or kind of a big let down. I don’t have any particular reason to believe that, it’s more just an instinct. Hopefully I’m way off and this is going to another wonderful adaptation of one of Neil Gaiman’s most wonderful creations. Anyway take a look at the trailer for yourself below and step into the world of The King of Dreams…
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
-Paul
World’s Best Media 