So it turns out that Daredevil wasn't quite the thrill ride we were looking for, in my estimation at any rate. Still, comic fans need not despair, as there's a plethora of other adaptations appearing soon with many more rumoured. Here we present a look at those films soon to appear and some of those possibly showing up in the next few years. I'm indebted to Comics2Film for much of this information
The current renaissance of the superhero genre is attributable mostly to the X-Men movie, and the imaginatively titled sequel X-Men 2 ought to be coming our way around May. The trailer shown during Daredevil screenings seems awfully impressive, building on the themes of the 'normals' growing distrust of the mutants, and looking to give ol' Prof. X more of an active role. The team has been expanded to include Nightcrawler and Iceman, and look to be going up against another of Magneto's schemes.
Spiderman's as much to blame as X-Men for the upsurge in interest, and the very slightly more imaginatively titled sequel The Amazing Spiderman is said to have a finalised script and the current aim is to have it appear in May of 2004, with Spidey up against Dr. Octopus. Rumours abound of Spiderman 3 featuring The Rock or Vin Diesel as either Venom or Carnage, but these have been laughed off by studio execs.
Old Saturday morning television stalwart The Incredible Hulk is due a movie translation out soon, with a script from X-Men writer David Hayter (amongst others of similar talent) and directed by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon helmer Ang Lee. Black Hawk Down's Eric Bana stars as Bruce Banner, with roles for Jennifer Connelly, Sam Eliot and Nick Nolte too. A trailer was shown during the Superbowl to a positive response, and with the talent behind it good things are expected for it's released this summer. It's already said to have spawned a sequel, they aim to have developed for May 2005, according to Marvel Studios head Avi Arad.
A more leftfield comic from British artist Alan Moore, The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen is set in nineteenth century London, featuring an oddball collection of literary characters such as Tom Sawyer, Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde, natch) and Captain Nemo teaming up to save the world. Blade director Stephen Norrington takes duties here, with the film starring Sean Connery as Allan Quartermain, going against the evil Fantom. This could be something really special, although I am haunted by visions of it turning into another Avengers catastrophe.
Also imminent is Bulletproof Monk, a comic I'm not familiar with at all. I am, however familiar with the god-like Chow Yun Fat, starring as the titular monk. Co-starring the dependable Sean William Scott and listing the also god-like John Woo as producer, this could be a surprise hit, although MGM don't seem to be pushing it too heavily. It should appear in March, with pirate DVD's already leaked in the Asian markets, which seems to have more pirates then Penzance.
Should Daredevil score big at the box office expect a sequel to be hastily thrown together, with some insiders talking about a spin-off franchise based on the Elektra character.
If you can keep a handle on what's happening with the Batman franchise you're a better person than I, There is supposedly what you might term Batman 5, named Batman - The Frightening, probably directed by Chris Nolan of Memento and Insomnia fame. The director of Pi and Requiem For A Dream, Darren Aronofsky's Batman: Year One appears to have fallen into development limbo, having been rumoured for years but seemingly doomed never to appear. Wolfgang Petersen is signed to direct Batman vs. Superman, which has appeared and vanished again from schedules with alarming frequency in favour of individual films starring the superheroes. Expect Frightening and Vs to show up in the next few years, with the success of them determining the likelihood of Year One.
If anything the Superman series is even more of a mess. Supposedly a new trilogy is supposed to be in the works from Rush Hour director Brett Ratner, although rumours were going around of him being replace by Michael Bay due to skyrocketing costs before a frame of film had even been shot. A new Superman film has supposedly been in development for seemingly two decades, with Nick Cage being linked with the Man Of Steel role. I have no doubt that the foolishly beunderpanted one will return to our screens soon, probably the latter half of 2004.
Judge Dredd is my hero. John Wagner 's creation appears to have survived the fires of Stallone's interpretation in the movie of a few years back, and the sale of his 2000AD birthplace to Rebellion to appear in two new movies, filmed back to back should the appropriate funding be secured. Tentatively named Dredd Reckoning and Possession, little details exist as yet, but I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for it's release.
New Line are making rumblings about having Iron Man out in cinemas in 2005, with Tom Cruise or Nick Cage starring as the alcoholic superhero Tony Stark. They've been sitting on the license since 2000, and seeing as Mr. Cage has been linked with every comic book movie going I'd take that with a pinch of salt.
Your favourite Vampire slice and dicer, Blade will be back in the predictably titled Blade III, slated for an August 2004 release. Details are sketchy, with the script yet not yet finalised, but it's fairly safe to say it'll be Blade (w/ sword) vs. a shedload of bloodsuckers.
Todd McFarlane is taking a far greater role in the sequel to the disappointing first outing for Spawn, focussing more on the comic's two detectives Sam & Twitch hunting Spawn down, with Spawn being reserved more for the ass-kickings of the sundry demons encountered. Still, given the inherent suckiness of the first movie I'm not holding my breath for this movie's release. Just as well, seeing as the script hasn't hit a first draft yet.
Preacher is another of the more offbeat creations from Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, also concerned with a war between heaven and hell. A film adaptation is scheduled to start shooting in April with Rachel Talalay of Tank Girl fame (infamy?) at the helm.
Marvel are also planning to go into production on either The Fantastic Four or the long rumoured Ghost Rider will be released in 2004, along with The Punisher and Namor: The Sub-Mariner. Nick Cage is reported to be interested in Ghost Rider, although no one is confirmed for any of these roles.
Phew. That's a lot of films, and there are a lot more floating around that I don't have the urge to cover, like Wonder Woman, Silver Surfer and Watchmen. If you want to keep tabs on the status of this little lot, Comics2Film is the best place to hang out.