User blog:LoveWaffle/2016 Superhero Movie Preview

All things considered, 2015 didn't have all that many superhero movies. Yes, they were highly-publicized releases, but there were still only three of them: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, and Fant4stic. Four if you want to count Kingsman: The Secret Service, which is based on a Mark Millar series but is more of a spoof on James Bond and spy fiction than anything else.

But now it's 2016, and the deluge of superhero movies is here. This is the year where one shared universe begins a new phase while another comes to fruition; where the X-Men franchise closes out one trilogy of prequel movies while launching two spin-offs, and where we find out if superhero movies can still exist outside of a shared universe. This is the year where we find out if that dreaded "over-saturation" is a real concern or if the wave of superhero movies is more accurately a rising water level. So let's take a look at them.

I count 8 superhero movies coming out in 2016: I know there are more movies coming out this year tangentially related to comic books like Godzilla Resurgence and Rogue One, and there are going to be big action movies that will want to evoke the style of superhero movies. There are also going to be a few straight-to-video animated films, but information about those are usually very light prior to release. So I don't think I'm being unfair by just talking about those eight movies. If there are any others you would like to talk about, we can do that somewhere else (the comments, perhaps).
 * Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange coming from Marvel Studios
 * Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad from Warner Bros. Pictures
 * X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool, and Gambit from 20th Century Fox
 * and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, the sequel to the 2014 film

Deadpool
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein Director: Tim Miller Release Date: February 12

2016's first superhero movie is also its most unconventional. Whereas most superhero movies (and big, tent-pole action movies in general) aim for a pleasing-to-all-audiences PG-13 rating, Deadpool goes balls-to-the-wall with an R, complete with decapitations, hard swearing, and sexual innuendo galore.

Of course, that's just what we would expect out of Deadpool, and it's important for this movie to get that right. A Deadpool movie has been in the works for over 15 years, but entered development hell after the disaster that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The movie's loose adaptation of Deadpool (dubbed "Barakapool" by disappointed fans) as a particular bone of contention. How do you take off the mouth off of the Merc with a Mouth?

Well, Deadpool has an answer for that. What we've seen of the movie pokes fun not only at Barakapool, but also at the character's notorious creator Rob Liefeld (who has a cameo in the movie) and at Green Lantern, star Ryan Reynolds' previous critically-panned superhero outing. Reynolds is actually a big reason of why this movie is even happening. He's been set to star in a Deadpool movie since 2004, and, following a resurgence of interest in the project following test footage leaking in mid-2014, he jumped on the opportunity to finally make this movie a reality. You can take some comfort in knowing the movie is in the hands of people who want to make it because they are fans of the character, not just because FOX wants to make another superhero movie (you know, like their last one).

If there's anything to be worried about, it's that the trailers for the film show more or less the same stuff. Wade Wilson becomes Deadpool, and then there's an extended fight scene taking place on a highway. Hopefully there's more to the movie than that. It should also be noted that Deadpool supposedly only has a budget of around $50 million, only a fraction of what most other recent superhero movies get, so there might not have been the money for anything more than just the one extended action sequence. Even if you aren't completely sold on the movie's quality, it could still be worth a look if just for the novelty of having a completely different superhero movie.

Outlook: Cautiously optimistic

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Starring: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Jesse Eisenberg Director: Zack Snyder Release Date: March 25

I'll just come out with it: If there's any one movie I would suspect is 2016's token terrible superhero movie, it's this one. Not just because of bitter reactions to the film's casting, narrative, and stylistic choices, or the polarizing reception to Man of Steel (which I mostly liked), or because I'm talking about a DC movie on a Marvel site. It's because we've been through this before. From the outset, BvS looks to have many of the same problems that plagued other studios' attempts to launch a shared universe; the kind of problems that make Iron Man 2 a lot of people's least favorite movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and caused The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to implode in on itself and force Sony to work with Marvel and Disney to make another movie with the character.

Like those two movies, BvS probably doesn't know what movie it wants to be. Is it a sequel to Man of Steel? a backdoor Batman reboot? the true first Justice League movie? There's a lot of different story threads that will compete for time in this movie, making it all the more unlikely that any of them will be done... well, justice. Granted, there is a chance this movie could do the impossible and pull of that off and make a sprawling superhero epic, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that.

If there's one advantage this movie has over those others, however, it's that it comes with more of a promise for things to come. Iron Man 2 just developed S.H.I.E.L.D., introduced Black Widow, and teased Cap and Thor. The attempts to spin the Amazing Spider-Man franchise into a shared universe was mostly met with disinterest. Batman v Superman, on the other hand, is coming with Batman (even if it is the third cinematic Batman in two decades), gives us our first live-action cinematic Wonder Woman, and will give us our first look at characters that are (or at least were) a heck of a lot more widely-known than Black Widow. Even if BvS isn't the greatest movie, it could at least leave us wanting to see more of these characters, either in their own movies or coming together in a proper Justice League movie. Those of you who are fans of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns are also likely to be pleased by this one, as that comic is one of the clearest influences on the movie.

Side note: The second season of Marvel's Daredevil will allegedly debut on March 25th, which is also Batman v Superman's release date. So if Batman fighting Superman (and then Doomsday) doesn't do anything for you, you could just as easily watch Daredevil fight the Punisher instead. This is the Year of the Superhero Fight, everyone.

Outlook: Cautious

Captain America: Civil War
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan Director: Joe & Anthony Russo Release Date: May 6

First there's Batman and Superman going at it, and then we have Captain America versus Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War. Loosely based on the 2006 event of the same name, the movie start Phase 3 of the MCU by dividing the Avengers and pitting them against each other. Following yet another event that involves the team and mass destruction, the world's governments establish to Sokovia Accords to create a body to oversee the Avengers' activities and register superpowered individuals. But things come to a breaking point when the time comes to turn Cap’s old friend-turned-Hydra assassin Bucky Barnes over to the authorities. On one side are Cap, Bucky, Falcon, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man, and (possibly) Agent 13; on the other are Iron Man, War Machine, Black Widow, the Vision, and newcomer to the MCU Black Panther, portrayed by Chadwick Boseman.

Also, Spider-Man will be there.

While registration is still a key part of this story, making Cap's relationships with Bucky and Iron Man - his past and his present - the focus of the story is an inspired idea. It means this is an actual sequel to 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier and not just Avengers 2.5 like so many were worried about, even if there are so many heroes in this. Although, the sheer number of heroes might be the movie's undoing. Civil War will feature more superheroes than any other MCU movie to date, even more than the Avengers movies. Even if the criticisms aren't all that fair, you just know certain people will complain about their favorite hero getting the short shrift in a movie bursting at the seams with them.

And those criticisms had better be unfair. Civil War is being brought to us by the Russo brothers, who not only made The Winter Soldier, but are also taking over from Joss Whedon to make the two Infinity War movies. If they can't handle all of these superheroes now, I don't want to imagine what those movies will look like. Civil War had better be good not just for its own sake, but for the decade of build-up leading into Infinity War.

Outlook: Positive, or at least it needs to be

X-Men: Apocalypse
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Oscar Isaac Director: Bryan Singer Release Date: May 27

Continuing the year of the superhero fight (because three out of the four Horsemen are traditionally X-Men) is X-Men: Apocalypse. Billed as the conclusion of a trilogy of X-Men prequels that began with 2011's X-Men: First Class, the film will presumably be the final outing for the younger versions of Xavier, Mystique, Magneto, and Beast. Joining them this time, however, are younger versions of several of your favorite X-Men from the original three movies. But most of the actors' contracts are up after this movie, and it takes place closer in time to the events of the original X-Men than it does First Class, so the trilogy kind of has to be over with this one.

Whether or not Bryan Singer and FOX have a plan for the younger Jean Grey et al after this movie, I honestly have no idea. The X-Men franchise, more than any other franchise I'll talk about here, seems to be playing it by ear; they don't seem to know what the next movie will be until they're done with their current one. Sure, they have plans for another Wolverine movie for 2017 and have vague ideas for spin-offs (i.e. X-Force and New Mutants), but what they have planned after that or even when we'll see the X-Men as a whole again hasn't been decided on yet. In an environment dominated by thoroughly-planned cinematic universes and films scheduled as far off as 2020, I can't say that isn't a bit refreshing.

Besides, the movie has Bryan Singer's usually winning direction, and even reunites most of the writing staff from X2. On top of all that, the movie will fully introduce Apocalypse, not only one of the X-Men's greatest villains but arguably one of Marvel Comics' as a whole. And portrayed by Oscar Isaac, to boot. Isaac is a fantastic actor, and, between his role in Star Wars to more serious fare like Inside Llewyn Davis, is one of the most in-demand character actors in Hollywood right now. And he wanted to play Apocalypse. That alone is enough to make me forget that Olivia Munn is in this movie, and I really, really don't care for Olivia Munn.

Outlook: Positive

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Starring: Megan Fox, Stephen Amell, Alan Ritchson Director: Dave Green Release Date: June 3

Did you like the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie? No? Good, this movie might be for you, then. It seems like Paramount paid attention to the response to their last Turtles movie from both critics and fans alike, and made their sequel accordingly.

Did the last movie take itself a bit too seriously, and the standout scene was just a silly moment of the Turtles goofing off in an elevator? Out of the Shadows appears to be a lot more comedic and light-hearted. Was there too much of Megan Fox and Will Arnett? They barely appear in the trailer. Disappointed that the Foot Clan were heavily-armed commandos? They're Ninja in this one. Hate the Shredder's armor that made him look like Megatron and how his identity was clearly changed in a round of re-shoots to avoid the controversy of a White guy portraying a Japanese supervillain? Now he's portrayed by Brian Tee and has a much sleeker look. Despise the design of the Turtles themselves? Well, they still have the same general look to them, but the way-more-controversial-than-they should nose and lips have been toned down to look more like the traditional "snout," and they seem to be a bit more vibrantly colored. Furthermore, the movie adds fan-favorites like Casey Jones, Baxter Stockman, Bebop and Rocksteady, and Krang (which was only announced yesterday), only one of which has had a major role in a Turtles movie before.

From what little we've seen about the movie, it seems like it better remembers that the franchise's popularity comes from an almost-30-year-old children's cartoon; like Platinum Dunes and Paramount's operating theme for the sequel was to apologize for the previous one to win over the fans who were turned off by it. That appears to have worked. Granted, a lot of this just comes from the trailer, so it's still likely someone at Paramount is just very good at marketing and knew what parts of the movie to highlight. And Baxter Stockman is portrayed by Tyler Perry, so it is just as likely that the people behind this movie over-corrected a bit in their attempts to make Out of the Shadows more cartoonish.

It should also be noted that Out of the Shadows is the only movie I'll talk about today that isn't part of some larger, shared universe. If this movie succeeds, it could mean that we will still see superhero movies made outside of a megafranchise like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, if that's something people would want. Although, there might be a cameo from a Transformer in there.

Outlook: Promising, but don't get your hopes too high

Suicide Squad
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto Director: David Ayer Release Date: August 5

The other unconventional superhero movie (if we could even call it that) coming out this year is Suicide Squad, Warner Bros.' first attempt to branch their burgeoning cinematic universe out from Man of Steel's shadow. Problem is, I don't know all that much about what's going on in this. And that isn't for lack of trying. Information about this movie's story is still relatively light, and there is a large section of the cast whose characters have still not yet been revealed to the public. Why is Warner Bros. treating this as if it were a mystery project?

Regardless, this is still an intriguing film. The reason I had to question as to whether or not we could call this a superhero movie is that the main characters... well, they aren't heroes. They're imprisoned supervillains who a government agency pulls together to run high-risk missions. If they succeed, they get their freedom; disobey their orders and a bomb in their neck goes off; fail and they die anyway. We don't know what mission they go in this movie (again, light on story details), but we do know who's on the team. It's a bunch of C- and D-list DC villains, the most well-known of which are Harley Quinn and Deadshot, the former of which appears to have a great deal of focus put on her in this movie. The Joker is also going to be in this, portrayed by Jared Leto, but how much of a role he has is to be seen. Is he the film's primary antagonist? Is his role limited to a series of flashbacks detailing Harley Quinn's journey to where she is by the start of the movie? Again, we really don't know too much about the movie's story.

Look, I like David Ayer's other work. I like the film's Amanda Waller, Viola Davis, especially since it bucks the trend of giving the character supermodel looks. I think Jared Leto will make for an interesting Joker. But the rest of the cast is just okay to downright terrible (looking at you, Jai Courtney), and it is worrying that we still know so little about this movie. Warner Bros. and DC should not be so hesitant to inform their audience as to something as simple as what the central conflict of this movie is. Hopefully we'll get more information about this movie soon.

Outlook: Could go either way

Gambit
Starring: Channing Tatum, maybe Léa Seydoux, ??? Director: TBD Release Date: October 7

Let's get this out of the way now: don't be surprised if this movie comes doesn't come out this year. The project has been floundering since director Rupert Wyatt departed the project in September. Before that, it almost looked like star Channing Tatum had departed the project, and Channing Tatum is about the only reason this movie is happening to begin with. And I don't think FOX would be interested in bringing back Taylor Kitsch from X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Aside from that, there isn't much going on with this movie. The only other known cast member is Spectre's Léa Seydoux, who isn't even officially confirmed for the cast. The movie has a writer in Josh Zetumer, whose only other credit is for the RoboCop reboot from 2014, a movie that came and went with middling reviews and everyone appears to have already forgotten about. We haven't heard anything about Edge of Tomorrow's Doug Liman replacing him since November. If Liman was officially in on this, we would have heard something by now. Producer Simon Kinberg assures us that Gambit will start shooting in the spring, but... yeah, I'll believe that once it starts happening.

Perhaps Kinberg's promise was just a ploy to keep people interested in the project. You know, a... uh... what's the word I'm looking for?

Outlook: Coming to theaters near you in 2017.

Doctor Strange
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton Director: Scott Derrickson Release Date: November 4

Closing out the year in superhero films is Doctor Strange, the second film in Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first about a new character. Like other first outings in a superhero franchise, the film is going to be an origin story. Doctor Stephen Strange injures his hands in a car accident, and then goes on a vision quest and learns magic in the Himalayas. Something like that.

The MCU's third phase is set to debut five different superhero franchises: Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and the Inhumans. I'm looking forward to seeing how each of those are adapted to the screen, and Black Panther and Captain Marvel add a diversity to the roster of movie-headlining heroes that many have been asking for. But those other characters don't bring anything too different from what's already in the MCU. Doctor Strange, on the other hand, adds an entirely new element to this mega-franchise - magic and mysticism. Daredevil may have hinted at mysticism through Madame Gao and the Thor films have explained away their magic as science, so Doctor Strange is the proper introduction for magical elements in the MCU. This potentially opens up the door for more mystical and/or supernatural heroes to be introduced in Phases 4 and beyond.

Of course, it's still to be seen how effectively magic is introduced to the MCU. I personally like Sinister, but director Scott Derrickson's previous work has not been met with widespread acclaim. What has, however, is the cast's. For a first superhero movie, Doctor Strange's cast is surprisingly stacked. In addition to the three people mentioned above (who are all great), Doctor Strange also features Rachel McAdams, A Serious Mans Michael Stuhlbarg, Transparents Amy Landecker, and Hannibal's Mads Mikkelsen (making him the second Hannibal Lecter in the MCU) as the film's main villain. Even if Derrickson isn't the strongest director, the cast is strong enough to elevate the movie above his level of talent.

Side Note: Doctor Strange also features martial artist Scott Adkins in an unknown role. Adkins was Weapon XI in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, because of course we need to bookend 2016's superhero movies with people who want us to forget about Barakapool.

Outlook: Positive

So which of 2016's superhero movies are you most looking forward to? Which ones are you most worried about? Is there anything you really want to see in these movies, or would you like to share some wild speculation? What do you think we'll find out about 2017's superhero movies at SDCC this year? Feel free to share your thoughts below.