411 Movies/TV Fact or Fiction: Is DC On the Right Track With Shazam and Aquaman?

Welcome back to 411 Movies Fact or Fiction! That’s right, folks…weee’re back! I’m Jeremy Thomas and it’s been a while since we’ve had this column in the Movies/TV Zone. But like Hollywood, no good idea can be left alone for too long without being revived, so here we are. And to kick us off this week, we have the co-writers of one of our favorite columns here in the Movie Zone: Aaron Hubbard and Michael Ornelas of From Under a Rock. Let’s dive in andx see what they have to say.

The Darkest Minds looks like it could rise above the last several young adult franchise adaptations.

Aaron Hubbard: FICTION. Are we sure this isn’t just an X-Men movie? I’m pretty sure I’ve already seen this movie twenty-seven times and I haven’t liked it more than half of those times. I’ve been annoyed by the trailer every time I see it at the theater and I will definitely be skipping it. It’s a movie that’s going to come out to zero fanfare and we’ll all forget it exists within a month.

Michael Ornelas: FICTION. I’m coming out the gates with an answer I really don’t feel qualified to give, as I don’t follow the YA genre in any way, shape, or form. It doesn’t appeal to me and as CGI has grown more prominent, feels largely constructed in a computer in such a way that the stories look like there’s no way they’d deliver on their arguably too-epic of premises. The Darkest Minds, from the looks of it, would make me roll my eyes much less than others in the genre, but I still don’t expect it to be great. I’m answering the question from a quality standpoint, however. If I’m being asked about its box office performance, it’s hard for me to say because it’s really hard to predict what the YA audience will latch on to.

The Shazam and Aquaman trailers give you hope the that DC is on the right path for their cinematic universe.

Aaron Hubbard: FACT. The Shazam trailer looks exactly like what they should be doing with that character. I know the original Captain Marvel has fans who probably wouldn’t mind a big screen adaptation of that character, but I don’t think it would stand out in the overcrowded genre today, and this approach seems to be tapping into what makes Billy Batson a unique hero. That, more than anything, is what I think DC needs to consider; looking at the heroes and presenting them the way they are best suited to, instead of trying to make everything a Batman movie. Aquaman isn’t really exciting me (at best, it’ll be the second best superhero movie about the monarch of a hidden kingdom this year), but I’m glad they at least seem dedicated to presenting what’s special about Aquaman comics (the fact that he’s underwater and that is a fascinating and often terrifying setting). It’s good to feel more positive about DC movies than I have in a long, long time.

Michael Ornelas: FACT. The Aquaman trailer looks really bad, as I already mentioned how much I hate it when movies are fully constructed in CGI. It looks like a movie that will make me roll my eyes out of my head. BUT…it’s directed by James Wan and that counts for something to me. But the main reason I’m going FACT here is that Shazam looks like a ton of fun. It has its own identity (if I didn’t know it was Warner Bros, I would have assumed another studio did it entirely), which is what makes the Marvel movies work, in my opinion. The DCU has largely blended together for me so it’s nice to see one that doesn’t take itself so seriously. We’ll see if this opens the door for them to try other more fun new things. I’m not holding my breath, but there’s hope.

You’re excited for Netflix’s Locke & Key adaptation.

Aaron Hubbard: FACT. With the caveat that I’m unfamiliar with the source material. I know Locke & Key has a positive reception as a comic book, and have been meaning to get around to it. Netflix shows are as hit or miss as anything, but I’m definitely happy to see them tackle comic book material outside of the usual Marvel/DC superhero fare.

Michael Ornelas: FICTION. I’m not not excited. I just have only heard the name Locke & Key before, without knowing what it is. The premise looks like it could be fun in the right hands, so I’ll reserve judgment until I see it. I’m not really a comic book/graphic novel guy, so it’s simply not on my radar.

SWITCH!

Disney will eventually hire James Gunn back once the furor over his controversial old tweets has died down.

Michael Ornelas: FICTION. I don’t say this confidently, though. I personally don’t think James Gunn did anything wrong. He dabbled in dark humor, which plenty of filmmakers have done (several on-screen), and made light of some serious topics…but he didn’t do anything illegal like the offenders of the #MeToo movement who deservedly get released from their contracts, and he didn’t say racial slurs like Papa John. It’s been 10 years. A literal decade. He apologized in the past, he apologized now, and since the initial apology, seems to have evolved and leave those types of jokes behind him. That said, his Tweets were wholly unfunny (and I’m not saying that from a PC perspective; I’m saying it as a comedian), and I don’t see Disney admitting they reacted incorrectly in order to bring him back on. I do hope that they bring him back as he has excellent chemistry with his cast and he has helped craft the voice of Guardians of the Galaxy, and it’d be a shame to see that be thrown away over Tweets made a decade ago.

Aaron Hubbard: FICTION. I really want to say FACT to this, but I can’t find it in me to be that certain. The whole James Gunn situation is a mess, an example of one group of people using the weaponized outrage of another group to essentially put a hit on Gunn’s career. Now, Gunn shouldn’t have made those tweets, but they aren’t substantially worse than the material of the average stand-up comedian from the same time period and the outcry is either disingenuous or ill-informed at best. Disney should rehire James Gunn, because they shouldn’t have fired him in the first place, but I can’t imagine that they will. Ultimately, he will be fine, he’s well-liked and talented and he’ll have no problem landing on his feet and getting his next project lined up. It does suck for me as a fan of Guardians of the Galaxy, which clearly benefits from his vision. But mostly, it just sucks that the people behind this got their way.

Rebooting Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a bad idea, even with Joss Whedon involved.

Michael Ornelas: FACT. The story has already been told. Let’s tell new stories instead of rebooting everything that fans still remember fondly, yeah? I’m sure it would do fine if brought back, but there’s really no need.

Aaron Hubbard: FACT. Probably, although I’ve certainly heard worse ideas. Buffy has never gone away completely, there’s been comics in print for years after the TV series ended and it’s got a devoted fan base that will probably hate whatever form the reboot takes. Or at least complain loudly over the internet while they watch it anyway. I’ve got no skin in the game with this one, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was before my time and didn’t capture my interest when I was old enough to be part of the target audience. But if I were the one calling the shots, I’d probably not have gone through with this idea.

You’re not willing to pay $7.99 a month (or $74.99 a year) for the DC Universe streaming service.

Michael Ornelas: FACT. I don’t think I’d watch it if I had it for free, but like I said, I’m not a comics/graphic novel guy. I like Batman, but that’s about it. Do they even have enough content for a streaming service?

Aaron Hubbard: FACT. Not in its current form, no. Part of that is just that I already own most good DC movies and television, live action or animated. So the archive doesn’t have as much value to me as someone who doesn’t collect this stuff. This is a service that’s got to win me over on its new content, and that Teen Titans show looks atrocious. I am interested in the third season of Young Justice, and if I can pay for one month of service to binge-watch it, I may do that. But ultimately, there just isn’t enough content there to make me a regular subscriber. What would get me to pay $7.99 a month is if DC would get their act together and make a proper digital archive for their comic books.

And there you have it…the return of Movies/TV Fact or Fiction. Thanks to both Michael and Aaron for taking part and we’ll see you all next week!