Definitely optimistic! The trailer has a ton of random looking elements, but Mr. Terrific, Guy Gardner's terrible haircut, and a kaiju fight? Now I'm interested.
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Thank god they aren't going with Guy Gardner's Warrior phase...
Not because of those things on their own, but it shows that this is an actual fantasy world from the jump. The Earth has giant monsters sometimes, and multiple Green Lanterns alongside
slightly more grounded crime-fighters like Terrific. Better yet, it's not an origin story, and doesn't exist in the blank slate "assumed default" that a lot of comic books have used over the years.
Most animated movies already leverage the setting, but live-action fare tends to be more timid. James Gunn's DC looks to be the world of the comics, where Frankenstein really happened, a meteorite made one of the first cavemen immortal, and time-travelers drop in to hang out with Superman.
On the other hand, consider Marvel. Tony Stark lived in our world and slowly built the amazing technology in front of us that sets his premise apart. New fantastical characters were layered on slowly, possibly to not overwhelm the audience. Thor and Cap didn't "exist" until their movies came out, at most they were Easter eggs and references.
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Tony Stark, seen here in Afghanistan selling smart munitions to the U.S. Army during the post-invasion occupation, the first and last current event referenced in a Marvel movie. I'm not saying the Hulk needs to be in Ukraine in the next movie, just that "our world" was the original setting. All of human history progressed relatively free of the supernatural.
Just to be clear, I'm not saying Superman could be good because there's more references, or lore. Kevin Smith once said of Batman v. Superman (and I'm paraphrasing here)," There's a fucking parademon on screen, man. For some people, that's enough."
View attachment 6481Instead, it's fun because the shared worlds of superhero comics allows for all kinds of opportunities. For instance, Dr. Strange can hire Taskmaster, the Black Cat, and Moon Knight to play a Fighter, Thief, and Priest in a cursed D&D knockoff that's killing several children, Jumanji-style, lest an adventuring party sally forth and finishes the game. Yes, you could set this up with the existing supporting characters in the book, but why force them into roles that other people living in Marvel's New York can already fill? Half of Manhattan owes Strange a favor for lifting a curse on their favorite pet or something, why
wouldn't he just break out his phone?
(Strange rolled a Mage, obviously.)
This isn't the "superior" way to tell stories or anything, but I'm a little bored of all these cinematic universes that play it safe. Every new character in a Marvel movie feels like their being vetted for a future project, like how all of the younger folks have been earmarked for a doomed Young Avengers movie that's never going to be made. Sometimes, people with powers should just show up, play their part, and leave without getting an origin story and a toy deal. I think the general viewing audience can handle it.
(Batman v. Superman *sorta* jumped in like that, but showed us a Comic-Con sizzle reel on Batman's computer instead of actually telling a story. Also Wonder Woman showed up, but for a climax that she was completely uninvolved with. I liked the initiative but the execution was brainless.)
Sorry if this is scatter-brained, I was just gonna post "Yes!" and then all this shit tumbled out.
