One of the things both Garcia and Johnson, as well as now-former New Line head Toby Emmerich have assured us is that the movie will have a tone unto itself, inspired by the classic Fawcett comics of fun and optimism. Recent comments in the last couple days have reaffirmed that, and even hinted the fun and optimism will spread to the rest of the DCEU, exorcising Zack Snyder's overtly morose and despaired vision. Could it be too much to hope that Captain Marvel could be at the very center, the heart and soul of a semi-rebooted DCEU?
The definitive film needs to have a good balance of fun and humor with action-adventure and drama and pathos. Sam Raimi was a master of this with his Spider-Man movies, and a few months ago there were internet rumors he was one of the top choices to direct the film. I hope those rumors are revealed to be true in the coming weeks or months. I would like to see the film use tilted ("Dutch") camera angles, much like celebrated film maker Orson Welles pioneered, to give it a unique look.
Of course, something else that needs to happen is for Alex Ross to be assigned to be the project's creative consultant, perhaps also a producer. He is one of only a few contemporary comic book talents who really "gets" the World's Mightiest Mortal. Just as Johnson's manager, Dany Garcia, is working hard to make sure the Black Adam character is perfect, it should be Alex Ross' privilege to do the same for the Captain Marvel character. The film should use Ross' version of Captain Marvel's uniform, but it should not be skintight spandex or muscle enhancing rubber. The model of Tom Tyler's costume from the serial should be used, where the top is more of a jacket, and the pants, while snug, are not actual tights. In addition, I would suggest artist Jerry Ordway be brought in to assist in creating the design for Fawcett City, with its unique blend of Art Deco elegance with Norman Rockwell Americana.
The film itself needs to stay away from the horribly failed Curse of Shazam reboot. The movie should have its foundation on the works of Alex Ross, specifically Justice and Shazam: Power of Hope and the recent, and very successful Thuderworld Adventures by Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart, as well as the Fawcett comics of the 1940s. When Otto Binder and C.C. Beck hit their stride, they produced some of the greatest superhero adventures of all time. Previous attempts at developing the movie over the past decade seemed married to the "Big with superpowers" concept. This concept keeps the character trapped in a goofy, juvenile stereotype. Cap should not act like a 12 year old. He has the wisdom of Solomon, which should make him more mature and less headstrong than Billy. The movie could use such a Big concept in a subtle way, but to go over the top, as most recent comic book stories featuring Captain Marvel have, will be a failure.
As in the Fawcett comics, Billy should be the star of the movie. Its his adventures we follow. Yet there still must be a lot of screen time and action sequences for Captain Marvel. I speculate the creators of Captain Marvel had the Old Testament book of Tobit in mind as a muse. In it, the mighty archangel Saint Raphael takes the form of a teen, Azariah, while among mortals. I suggest all Captain Marvel fans read this book. If you don't have a Bible with the deuterocanonical books, here is a link for Tobit . Mary and Freddy should be supporting characters the film, but they should not get their powers until the sequels. Needless to say I do not want to see the three new52 kids, Darla, Pedro and Eugene, cluttering up the film. And despite many fans clamoring for it, I do not want to see Superman in anyway in this film. If there must be a cameo with an established DCEU character, at least go with a less predicable and more creative and interesting choice like Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, or even Ben Affleck's Batman.
The elephant in the living room needs to be addressed. Captain Marvel's name. I am vehemently against the idea of renaming Captain Marvel with the wizard's name, Shazam. In a perfect world, the film makers will just call him Captain Marvel, as it should be, and let the chips fall where they may. But I fear some backdoor politics may cause that name to be off limits. If that's the case, I would advocate for Captain Marvel to be nameless in the movie. We all know who he is, despite what Geoff Johns thinks. The end credits should credit the actor playing him as "World's Mightiest Mortal", and leave it at that. In fact, "World's Mightiest Mortal" should be the title of the movie.
Perhaps the most infamous Captain Marvel fan was/is Elvis Presley. The definitive Captain Marvel movie must have an Elvis soundtrack. "If I Can Dream" would be a perfect theme song. Many of his under appreciated 60s tracks would fit the film perfectly, like "Long Legged Girl" for Beautia, "What A Wonderful Life" for Billy, "That's Someone You'll Never Forget" for Billy's crush on Beautia, "Kiss Me Quick" for Beautia's longing for Captain Marvel, etc. Perhaps Duane Eddy's hit instrumental "Shazam" could be incorporated into the score.
Casting suggestions, other than Johnson as Black Adam:
Captain Marvel - Derek Theler.
Alternate pick: Lou Ferrigno Jr.
Billy Batson - Colin Critchley.
Shazam - James Caan.
Alternate picks: Michael Keaton, F Murray Abraham, Max von Sydow, James Woods, or Tim Allen.
Dr Sivana - Jackie Earle Haley.
Alternate pick: Michael D Cohen
Beautia - Virginia Gardner.
This bombshell-in-the-making would be perfect for the World's Sexiest Woman.
Alternate picks: Suki Waterhouse, Haley Bennett, Genevieve Morton, or Carla Sonre.
Uncle Dudley - his royal majesty Micky Dolenz .
Mary Bromfield/Batson - Jade Pettyjohn.
Alternate choices: Breanna Yde or Reagan Strange
Sterling Morris - Jon Voight.
Alternate pick: Dan Aykroyd.
Mr Tawny - Jim Belushi.
Freddy Freeman - Levi Miller.
A talented young actor who can bring the darker, more serious counterpart to Billy to life on the silver screen.
Freddy's Grandpa - Alan
Alda.
UPDATE: Just one week after this post was published, it was announced Black Adam would get his own solo movie, and the character has effectively been removed from Captain Marvel's movie save for a possible small cameo.
2 comments:
Honestly, at this point, I really don't have any hope that they are going to Billy and his whole world justice. I hope that we at least get Sam Raimi as director, but we're probably going to get some B-director.
I would love if Alex Ross, Jerry Ordway, Jeff Smith, and Doc Shaner to all work on the movie. There would actually be some hope. If it's based off Justice, Shazam: Power of Hope, Thunderworld Adventures, and Convergence Thunderworld or even have that same tone, it might be worth it.
Billy's not going to be the main character. He's not been a main character in a very long time and everyone knows it. Since Geoff Johns' run on JLA in the early 2000s, Black Adam is deemed far more interesting and with the Rock (no matter how much I like and respect his work) will steal the show most likely.
I agree that the first movie shouldn't clutter the screen with characters--maybe not even Mary and Freddy quite yet, either. I definitely agree that they should wait for the New52 kids for another time.
Honestly, there should be no guest appearance by another hero, unless very minor. Billy and Cap's stories are always better when not connected to others, except maybe in Justice.
I would love an Elvis soundtrack! That would be awesome and perfect. They probably could make an awesome soundtrack especially if they get some good bands and singers to cover the songs.
His superhero name is always a bone of contention. The best case would that he goes unnamed, but that's not likely. They rebranded him Shazam, even if most of us call him Captain Marvel or refer to him as Cap (but because of Marvel Comics, it gets confusing for the casual fan and movie goer).
I really like your casting suggestions--I totally agree with you on the kid that was in Legends of the Hidden Temple, when he said holy moly it clicked for me too.
Excellent post. Interesting casting choices. I especially agree with the part about Billy and Cap needing to be separate. Cap doesn't need to be kid mentally, that goes against the whole Wisdom of Solomon endowment.
Post a Comment