Hero Inc.

Thanks to the super success of Spider-Man, X-Men, and Batman, super hero movies are continuing to gain the green light on filming. Here’s a little update on a few of the films headed to the screen this year and in the future.

1. The Dark Knight (July 18, 2008) – This is probably the most anticipated movie of the year. Besides being the return of cast and crew from Batman Begins, it also marks one of the last films Heath Ledger made before he died. Everything I have read has stated that his turn as the Joker is simply amazing. Ledger even stated that to prepare he locked himself in a hotel room with a “Joker” journal and made not of anything the Joker would find funny (AIDS apparently was on that list). The teaser trailer gave many fans much to wonder. The real trailer gave us all hope of a great film.
2. Iron Man (May 2, 2008) – Many people are looking down on this movie and I don’t know why. I’m really looking forward to this one. I mean, you can’t get a better Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr. is the playboy drunk in real life and the screen). I don’t know much about Iron Man villians, but I like what I’ve seen visually. I just hope they don’t hide his life outside of the suit. The fight scene between Iron Man and two F-22 Raptors looks great too.
3. Wanted (July 27, 2008)- I don’t know much about the comic other than what wikipedia can tell me. However, the trailer looks good in a sort of Hitman sort of way but better. I’m not a fan of Angelina (gasp….), but the concept looks cool (group of assassins looking to kill each other and some have cool abilities like curving their shots) and sometimes I just like pointless violence. I guess that makes me a bad person or just an American. To me, the best part of the trailer is the scene where the guy comes flying out of the window as the glass breaks around him. Super cool.
4. The Incredible Hulk (June 13, 2008)- Before you start yawning or rolling your eyes, realize that this is NOT The Hulk movie with Eric Bana. This is Marvel taking their property in their own direction. Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt. Sounds good to me. Norton even helped write some of the script himself (that could be good or bad). This movie’s villain will be the Abomination, who is just like the Hulk, but keeps his intelligence when he smashes things. The trailer had me hooked, but most usually do.
5. The Spirit (January 16, 2009) – If you liked 300 or Sin City, then this should be enjoyable as well because it is another Frank Miller created property. The Spirit is a cop who was killed and returns from the dead to “fight crime from the shadows of Central City.” Might sound corny, but what comic book character or story doesn’t? This one is a long way off so let’s wait to see what develops and what visuals we get from it. Oh yeah, Samuel L. Jackson is in this one. He might also make a few cameos in other movies on this list, but that’s something else entirely.
6. The Watchmen (March 6, 2009) – Alan Moore, creator of V For Vendetta, wrote a 12 issue limited series during the 80’s. The Watchmen is heralded as one of the reasons comics became darker (bloody, deaths, adult themes). Don’t write this book off as just blood and violence. There is a really good story here (think Incredibles but not as family friendly). Time magazine even listed The Watchmen on “the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.” It was the only graphic novel to make this list. The cast looks great in their costumes. Of course, they left out Dr. Manhattan. I wonder why…
7. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (July 11, 2008) – I did not know much about Hellboy before the first movie was released. A good friend encouraged me to go with him to see it and the original trailer looked good so I went. I was shocked. Hellboy was a really good movie with a great mix of comedy and action. Now I’m really looking forward to HellBoy II. The entire cast is back, unless someone died in the first movie. There will also be a few new faces as well. Can’t go wrong with the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. So far, only a teaser has been released, but more show surface as the release date continues to move closer. Speaking of more. I wrote most of this post a few weeks ago. It’s a good thing I chose to post it today because the real trailer for Hellboy II was released today. Hellboy II will probably be another sleeper hit of the summer.

Here’s hoping for a great summer with many more great comic book movies. The better these do, the more will be made. Here’s hoping for no more Nick Fury:Agent of Shield with David Hasselhoff or The Punisher with Dolph Lundgren.