When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

I mean just in the last 15 years (including upcoming films) we've had...

A complete Batman reboot

2 Superman reboots

3 X-men reboots, not to mention spin-offs

3 complete Spiderman reboots (including the upcoming Marvel Cinematic version of the character)

2 Fantastic Four reboots

The entire Marvel Cinematic Universe of course (with 11 films so far) and the upcoming DC Universe films

And a slew of miscellaneous films (e.x. a couple of Punisher films, a Green Lantern film; Hancock, lesser known comics like The Spirit, Daredevil, Watchmen, etc)

Not to mention all of the TV-show counterparts; Gotham, Agents of Shield, Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, etc

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I just have a feeling the bubble's going to burst - this is just too much and has basically turned into a money-making machine, and people are going to get tired of it once the buzz of novelty wears of.

I think this'd be for the better anyway since the majority of these films are generica and stick to safe, predictable plot cliches; even the highly acclaimed-ones like "Avengers" are still pretty generic in terms of cliched plots and characters, they just aren't flat-out bad (like the original Fantastic Four films) - I'd much rather see 1 superhero film every 2 years or so which really stands out (like The Dark Knight), than 15 films per year which are all "been here, done that" affairs - but that's just me.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

It's not going to die anytime soon, but I have a feeling that by 2019 or so people will begin to grow really tired of it. I think by 2025 the genre will be completely dead.

They're won't be anything left to reboot by then. Unless they actually start creating their new 'superheroes' instead of rebooting every one in existence I think people will grow weary.

Maybe create a "Birdman" spinoff featuring Michael Keaton's superhero in an actual film (it'd have to be action comedy though).

Just for comparison's sake:

There have been 23 Marvel and DC superhero films since the year 2000...

...while there have been 23 James Bond films... since 1963 :eek:

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

After Avengers: Infinity War Part II. After that I doubt Marvel will be able to top it, and I have very little faith in Warner Brothers even coming close to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with their movies.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

Speaking of which, I'm suprised that DC waited until this late in the game to try to 'catch up'.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

In my opinion they are trying to do too much too fast. Marvel spent years developing their characters before The Avengers made it a legit Universe. Warner Brothers is going in too hard and strong.

I wouldn't hold my breath. The comic genre is just starting in the sense that they are finally able to do them justice.

There are decades and decades of material and loyalties that have been built upon. Not only that, these are basically sci-fi movies. Plus, think of the install base that is being groomed. Kids nowadays have a multitude of comic entertainment options.

I just don't see it happening. It's just like Star Wars in my eyes.

Star Wars didn't make 23 films in just 15 years though.

I used the James Bond series as an analogy - since they made 23 films, but that's since 1962 rather than 2000.

I really have a feeling that if they had started making 1 or 2 James Bond films every year that the series would've died long ago. Too much of anything and you get burnt out on it.

Plus with exception of Batman, Superman, and a few of the other very well-known heroes - comics today are a niche genre (I think the advent of "Saturday Morning Cartoons" for kids is what pushed them out of the mainstream) - I mean I'd never even heard of "Ant-Man" until the film was announced, for example.

I've been wondering the same thing, but I don't think it will happen anytime soon. It's probably the most appealing type of film for the average moviegoer... people go to the movies to be entertained and get away from the mundane stuff. And with the huge fan base there will probably be demand for a long time so obviously studios will have incentive to make more superhero movies and make sure the hype stays at a certain level. Their business model is based on these tentpoles that they need to turn a profit and also cover the losses incurred from the other movies.

I think that as long as they keep making superhero movies based on good material with a sexy cast and they market it the way that they do, people will go and see them... 'if you build it, he will come' lol

Since you mention the fanbase - I'd be inclined to think that the films would appeal more to the casual filmgoer than the die-hard comic book fans anyway - since the films try to cram years' worth of comic book material into a 2 hour slot.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

As it stands right now, it looks to be going years and years ahead. I can't see it die any time soon. There is still plenty of heroes and villains left out there not to mention the possibility of just rebooting everything all the time as well.

Can't wait for that 4th Spiderman reboot (starring Nick Jonas) - one year after the upcoming Avengers tie-in :cool:

Rumor also has it that Disney's planning an entire new MCU reboot after 2019 - starting with 3 new Iron Man films - Michael Keaton's being considered for the role :cool: The 5th Spiderman reboot (starring Justin Bieber) will follow immediately after the new Iron Man trilogy in 2023.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

Well this is an easy answer. When studios stop making money off them.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

When Rodent dies. He's the only one that watches them all.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

I'm also leaning on the Marvel films dying down in popularity if Robert Downey Jr. ever leaves - IMO he's basically what 'makes' the films in terms of acting talent (he's also the one who got the entire series started off with Iron Man) - if he bows out then the popularity may dwindle since none of the other lead actors stand out particularly.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

I don't think it will ever die. It may slow down but they will always be there. They will just reboot everything again for the new generation.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

I hope it never dies. Marvel is putting out terrific supehero flicks. Can't wait to see more...

Well they're better than a lot of Marvel films which came before it - IMO the Dark Knight Saga is the one superhero film series which stood out the most- and that one was a planned trilogy.

When they turn it into a 'machine' which cranks out a new movie or 2 every year, there's only so much time it has before it 'jumps the shark'.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

When this generation grows up.... So never. :p Actually, it'll probably be when the next generation grow up and 'don't want to watch that crap our parents watch.'

when they start losing money, but I think it'll be a long time. When kids are around, the parents have to follow, tickets for everyone.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

It'll certainly be when they're no longer worth the risk, that's for sure, though that's not the same as when they start to lose money. Of course, if the nature of the business changes and they go back to being happy with making tens of millions, rather than hundreds of millions, then it could continue for a while after that.

Hey just wanting your opinion on something - what do you think made the Superhero film trend so popular in the first place?

Because while Superman, Batman, Spiderman, X-Men etc are still pretty popular (ex. a lot of 90s kids grew up with their animated shows on TV) - a lot of the others are not extremely popular outside of the hardcore comic book fandom. And I didn't think comic book fandom was mainstream enough today to justify the success of films like Iron Man and Thor alone.

I think it's more than mainstream enough. Maybe not the fandom per se, but it's filtered through to other areas and the internet has spread it so widely and made it so easily accessible. People play games with characters they didn't know existed in comicbooks. This then opens up the property. Same with tv programmes. There are people watching Gotham, for example, who won't have ever read a Batman comic in their lives. I know there are because I know one. :D No reason to think she's the only one or even one of few. Comicbooks, fanfic, anime, manga, etc there's so much crossover that to be into one of them will often offer the opportunity to enter into another. All this gets filtered by the mainstream and made into TV and film.

The big marquee properties (Batman, Superman, X-Men etc) but also the smaller stuff. Kick-Ass, Ghost World, Sin City, 300, 30 Days Of Night, The Walking Dead, Barb Wire and many, many more. It may be having its time now, but if you go back to the 90's you'll see quite a few one off films which were comicbooks. They've been trying for a long time. I think it all goes back to Spielberg and Lucas. That's where Hollywood started towards what we now see as the norm, An infantisation of adults, as I see/call it. They're not to blame, they were just the ones which happened upon it first. Of course, had Star Wars, Indy or ET all performed like Howard The Duck (which was a comic book) then it might not've happened the way it did.

Another thing is that it's just what's served up now. If you want to see an action film, but not a comicbook film, your choice is a lot more limited. Were it not for the recent neo-grindhouse and 80's action revival, it'd seem almost non-existent.

The non domestic (N.American) market is so much more important now, too, so you're looking at films which require as little dialogue as possible, so action works well. Same reason horror and slapstick/gross out films play well, too. Though they don't usually make the money of the big summer films, so they're not usually released at that time.

Action films also give you spectacle, which is the be all and end all of the summer market and the summer market is where Hollywood concentrates it's big money releases.

The more it makes the more there is and most people don't care about or view films even like I do, let alone in the way some of you do. They don't care who the director is or what he or she has made before. They like actors. Who's in it and what's it about? Those are usually not only the first two questions I hear, but the only two. After that most know whether it sounds like something they'd like to see or not.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

When a superhero shoots them all in the head with a magic golden gun?

I disagree. There's quite a few older Marvel titles that are quite good and the Marvel universe has literally thousands upon thousands of altering storylines. They could quite literally make these things until they stop making movies altogether. You may say they jumped the shark, but really they're just most likely different people making the flicks that may not make a version to your liking. Cool thing is nowadays is they seem to get these stories right more often than they get them wrong. Oh yeah, and Howard the Duck was effing dope.

That one had a lot of adult humor in it, I think that's why it failed.

Too raunchy for kids; but too cartoony for adults - it didn't have a target audience. (Though you could say the same thing about TV shows like Family Guy and South Park, and yet they're massively successful - go figure).

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

I don't think it can be discounted just how many huge names in the industry get involved in these flicks too. As long as all this great talent keeps making really solid superhero flicks there's no reason for them to stop. Not only do all these serious "actors" get to have all kinds of fun but they do get to dramatically act a fair bit in these movies today as well. I think a lot of the guys and gals grew up reading these things just like we did and can't wait to get their own shot the material.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

Hopefully in the near future.

Never. Superheroes are modern mythological figures. The main characters of the Illiad were in a sense superheroes too, for example.

Though if you mean the North American superhero concept of men with superhuman abilities wearing colorful costumes to fight crime/evil, well that's a more specific thing.

Maybe this genre will lose popularity but will never completely die (and I hope it will because I dislike movies with masked characters wearing ludicrous costumes, Guardians of the Galaxy was better though but that wasn't a superhero film but an adventure sci-fi film), I prefer the more conventional type of hero like the guys in Seven Samurai and in Star Wars. Those had more style.

I never read an American superhero comic. I read a lot of North American comics but never a superhero themed one.

Manga is very different in that respect because it's a much more diversified medium than North American comics. There are substantial amounts of it inside the superhero genre broadly conceived (I guess Akira is one), but most of it mirrors literature in general, covering all genres and demographics (for instance, manga sales in terms of adult/juvenile manga are proportional to sales of novels, classified as adult or juvenile).

It's called entertainment. Before Lucas and Spielberg there were the historical epics (Ben Hur) and the westerns. And movies like Seven Samurai from 1954 are extremely similar to a movie like The Avengers, besides the special effects and supernatural elements. Blockbuster films always exist as long as there is a large market for movies.

You call that "Infanti(li?)sation of adults", well then adults are being infantilized since the Illiad, i.e. since fiction and fantasy exist. Just because a movie is accessible for children does not mean it isn't supposed to be enjoyed by an adult.

Seeking films by director instead of actor is the way of the film buff. The way of the casual film watcher is to seek movies by the actor or theme or franchise. This applies to all eras and countries, not just the present.

I wasn't suggesting that it'd die out completely - I was talking about the recent trend of cranking out 2-3 films per year or more, and rebooting every popular franchise under the sun.

I think eventually it's going to become old hat, and we might see something closer to 1 or 2 films every couple years - hopefully which will be more memorable.

Now they're successful. Would they have been so back then? I don't know. I don't know how widely seen they'd have been back then, as I doubt they'd have been on network tv in the States. Things have their time. Do it before and it doesn't work, do it after and it looks dated. Unless you wait long enough for it to look fresh again or have a new twist on it, then it's back to whether it's the right time for it.

Would your parents have sat and watched a cartoon on tv in the 80's without using the kids as an excuse? Because that's the first hurdle to overcome and, if they don't think they can get people to do that, then the quality is immaterial as they simply wouldn't bother making it.

Do you watch Gotham? If so, there's another one. Though, what I really meant to put across was that there will be people watching Gotham who've never read a comic and wouldn't think of doing so who will be watching. That's how mainstream it is now, which was my point.

Yes manga is different, but from a mainstream pov, it's all the same area. I could've included Cosplay, RPG's (both computer and board) or even Japanese culture itself. My point wasn't to compare those things, but to say that they're all easily accessible and widely available now thanks to the internet and that an interest in one can easily lead to the acknowledgement of another. So, for example, you might only be interested in anime. But then you're talking to someone on a website about a film and they mention a convention they're going to. Something you didn't know existed. It sounds like something you'd enjoy, so you go to a convention and discover cosplay. Previously these sorts of things were outside the mainstream and tucked away. There were fan clubs or fanzines, small local groups, but they were few and fair between and they were often the sort of thing which you stopped when you became an adult/grew up and had responsibilities. Now it's so easy and quick to find like-minded individuals and interact with them and, thanks to people sharing digitally, it can happen so much quicker and if it's not free, then it's usually cheap, which makes it easier to spread because there's little/no risk. All of this increases the pace at which these things happen.

When I first got into foreign cinema there weren't any films like that shown anywhere near me and any films you could find to buy would usually be very expensive. Plus, they'd be blind buys and often I might not even know the title. Those from the generation before me wouldn't have even had that option.

There still aren't any non-mainstream cinemas near me, but that doesn't matter because it's all out there at my fingertips. If I know about it I can find it and if I don't know of it then there's so many places/opportunities to find out about it. Before there were the people you knew, tv and radio and the library. And the library didn't rent films out when I started in foreign cinema, so it wouldn't have mattered even if I'd borrowed every book on cinema they had so I could research what I might like. With the exception of Sight & Sound (which back then wasn't sold in any shop I'd ever been in outside London) I don't think there was a mainstream/populist film magazine in the UK until the early 90's, though I'm sure you could get the US version of Premire or something like that in London in some places. But, again, you had to know it existed.

So, as I said, they're currently what are being used for action films. Thanks, I've already said all that.

No, I didn't say that sci-fi and/or fantasy are for children. Neither did I say adults shouldn't/can't enjoy children's entertainment. This is only one element of what I think of as the infantilisation of adults, but in this instance what I mean is that this is sold to adults as if it's for them. Whereas before it was/would've been seen as a kids film.

I remember seeing The Care Bears Movie in 1986 and my abiding memory from that experience (other than the gift pack we were each given. That was the first time I'd been to the cinema and been given anything) was that I was the odd one out. Everyone else in the queue (and you all queued up outside the doors back then. No foyer or games area to be in) was either a small child or the accompanying adult(s). I was 13 years old and I seemed to be at least half the age of the adults or about twice the age of the kids.

I don't know this, but if the same thing played out now, my guess is that the 13 year old HK wouldn't be the odd one out. It might still be mainly kids and parents for a Care Bears film, but I still don't think I'd be the only 'other'. Personally, I can think of two women off the top of my head who may well be in that line and, were it My Little Pony, I'm sure it'd be a hell of a lot more.

I have an hypothesis that my generation looked at our parents and their refrain of "Hope I die before I get old" and realised that that was all well and good but a) You didn't want to die and, b) If you didn't, then you got old. I feel we got around this by just not growing up. We'll get old, but we won't grow up and if we don't grow up then we get to avoid what our parents wanted to avoid by dying, which is being a grown up and having responsibilities.

Again, this is what I said/meant. We may care/think about directors/producers/writers/etc, but the vast majority of the cinema going public want to know who's in it and what's it about.

That was so much longer than I was expecting. Sorry about that. :o

Well, when I went to watch How to Train Your Dragon 2 I saw mostly 7 year old kids and their parents. Me and my sister were perhaps the only ones in their 20's there (without a kid). Though that was in Brazil, in the US I think the general public is more "open minded' for animation (non-foreign).

It's true that people today become mature adults at slower rate, that many 20 year old persons are just big kids. I notice that this is more characteristic of the US than in Brazil, though 20 year old people from the Brazilian upper classes tend to be less mature than 20 year olds from the lower classes.

My grandfather started to work when he was 13 and was supporting his family at that point, while he said he worked 16 hours a day when he was a teenager. While I became financially independent from my parents after finishing college, at the age of 22. And I was comparatively mature for my age compared to most Brazilians from the upper classes.

Indeed.

I like reading.

True. When I was a kid I read magazines of the Brazilian anime fandom (who were mostly ranting that local TV stations don't air it), but it was thanks to the internet, most specifically the IMDB top 250 list, that I discovered Miyazaki. It was thanks to recommendations and comments in anime forums that I watched PMMM and it was thanks to film critics blogs that I watched a huge amount of European film.

Without access to the internet I believe I would never be an animation and manga fan or even know much about films beyond Brazilian and American ones. Or about science fiction literature, or about metal bands beyond the mainstream ones. The internet is the greatest invention of the last 60 years or so.

When they stop making money, which they won't, especially with online fan forums. The outpouring of support for so many of these "secondary" comics (Guardians Of the Galaxy, Deadpool, Antman, etc.) is generating enough of a buzz to make the studios money hand over fist.

Here's a review/drinking game for Guardians Of The Galaxy, courtesy of Reel Wasted:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dkS9GQUUxVo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

I think the fad will die with a Banana Man film.

The time frames we are talking about you should be more concerned about the death of movies as a relevant artform. The last movie to play in the last cinema will probably be a superhero flick. Maybe not a DC or Marvel comics film, but a superhero film of some description. It is an amazing genre that combines our love of exceptional people and unworldly visuals, can be endlessly combined with other genres for freshness, and has decades worth of proven stories to mine.

Doomsayers and haters claim viewers will get sick of seeing the same thing. Though I recognise the overused tropes I don't see much at Fox or Marvel to imply stagnancy. I see mixing of genres, creative directors, exploration of new characters etc. They don't just stick with what works and mine it dry (except Hugh Jackman, Spiderman, and third-act destruction coming from the sky). How much similarity is there between GotG, DoFP and The Winter Soldier for people to get sick of?

This is because Superhero films have huge momentum now and we can see no signs of even the beginnings of their decline. Age of Ultron will probably be one of the top three grossing movies of all time. Is that evidence of a "bubble burst"? They have a vast future ahead of them. Marvel has barely stopped relying on their most popular characters. No one has even yet created an original superhero concept for film. The exploration of mixing genres with superheroes has only just started. We have only recently developed the special effects that do superheros justice, and they are always getting better. If you don't like superheroes, best get over it, because it's only just begun.

People will stop watching superhero movies because they are too busy playing videogames, not because they're watching other movies.

After seeing what F7 made opening weekend, I would lay a sum that Ultron will break $200 mil.

You're right that there's a good amount of variety out there in terms of superhero films - a lot of the films though (such the Marvel films) are pretty similar in that they follow fairly predictable plots and try way to hard to 'play it safe' rather than doing something more original. (For example in Winter Soldier I knew right away that Nick Fury wasn't dead, because I knew that the studio didn't have the balls to kill off a main character).

And ironically a lot of the ones which tried to 'be different' (like Watchman) ended up getting hit harder by the critics

Don't think I just "hate superhero films", I'm just thinking quality over quantity here - you made a great point about there being plenty of material and stories to work with; so far though there have been a lot more 'generic' super hero films than there have been really original ones.

I like Bond films but if studios were producing 3 Bond films every year I'd probably quit watching them; I'd rather have a superhero movie every couple years more like the Dark Knight (I know not everyone was big on the gritty style, but it's one of my favorite superhero flicks) - than 3-4 per year which all feel the same, or which reboot the same characters ad infinitum when they run out of ideas.

I mean c'mon - 3 separate Spiderman reboots in just a decade?

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

If you take it literally, broadly, people really do love superheros so much that my prediction about the last film in the last cinema is very likely accurate — that is, if you take Hercules and Robin Hood as prototypical superheros. But I'll stick to comic-book superhero movies for the sake of discussion.

The James Bond comparison is awful. You're comparing a whole genre to one character, one series. Even if you just compare to Marvel: they release two movies a year in the same universe but have six titles that vary in characters, tone, even sub-genre. Are Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy really the same sort of film?

On that point, I disagree that they all feel the same. The Dark Knight. Iron Man. Dredd. Kick-Ass. The Wolverine. Days of Future Past. Amazing Spider-Man. The Avengers. Are they that similar?

That's true of all films. In a few years when there are ten superhero films coming out each year it's your choice to only watch the good ones.

Speaking of which, let's consider the future. Next year are Captain America: Civil War and X-Men Apocalypse, sequels to two of the best superhero films ever (and directed and produced by the same people), There are three new titles: Deadpool, a violent, fourth-wall breaking passion-project for Ryan Reynolds; Doctor Strange, a well loved and talented lead with a horror film director making Kevin Fiege's passion-project; and Gambit. Finally, DC/Warner Brothers are pushing in hard with Suicide Squad, a super-villain ensemble starring pretty massive actors, and Batman v. Superman nuff said.

I'm just saying, I'm looking forward to it.

Well, 15 years.

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

Stephen S DeKnight makes the point well:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/how...son-2-20150410

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

I think only when they find something new! It was always like that... It's taking to damn long though!

Re: When do you think the superhero flick fad is going to die?
 

Valiant Universe. Google :Bloodshot,' 'Harbinger' Comics to Get Film Treatment From Sony, Valiant Entertainment (Exclusive) . I cannot post links yet.

An another universe. But barely superheroes.No capes and least in the comics people die. also i cannot imagine the first movie not being R rated.