After a somewhat long break we are back to superheroes. Last time around we were in 2008 looking at what was arguably the best year yet for the genre. Today we’ll look at a few comic book characters brought for the first time on the big screen, an original black hero, two sequels, a spin-off and a once considered impossible to adapt graphic novel. But first there’s a little something that must be done.

Before we get going I have to give Spider-Man 3 a second look just to clear some things. I understand very well that last time I came across way to harsh on Sam Raimi, blaming him for a lot more then he deserved blaming. What I didn’t mention was how Sony handled the project and how they forced Venom into Raimi’s story with a crowbar. This explains why the Symbiote plot was so underdeveloped and why it seemed shoehorned into the overall plot. Now I’m not saying Raimi is a saint, he could have handled certain plot points a lot better and his direction was all over the place compared to previous entries. Throwing that to the side, I blame Sony and only Sony for how Spider-Man 4 was handled (read cancelled) and I have to be honest, if it wasn’t for Mark Webb (500 Days of Summer) directing The Amazing Spider-Man, I would not be interested in that reboot.

Back to 2008, we start with Wanted, the Mark Miller comic turned big budget movie starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman. This isn’t your typical superhero but the dude can curve bullets and he fights a secret worldwide assassin organization, so you could say he qualifies to be in here. Wanted made $134.5 million in North America and $341.6 million worldwide. A sequel has been considered and then dropped but there’s still a chance we might get Wanted 2 in the future.

Released on the 2nd of July 2008 starring Will Smith, Hancock became the first original superhero movie to hit big. It made $227.9 million in North American and $624.3 million worldwide, mostly thanks to the huge drawing power of its star, Will Smith. Hancock 2 is categorized as being in development on IMDB for a 2013 proposed release.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army came out on July 11th 2008. You see, the original Hellboy (2004), while loved by fans, wasn’t a particularly big hit grossing only $99.3 million worldwide on a $66 million budget, so Sony dropped it. Few years later, Universal stepped in and gave Guillermo del Toro $85 million to make the sequel fans expected. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army was well received by just about everyone but, turns out releasing just a week before the most hotly anticipated title of the year isn’t a good idea, even more so when said title is also a superhero movie. With $160.3 million worldwide Hellboy 2 didn’t cover its budget so the 3rd planned entry is now on hold. Unfortunately with time passing by so fast and Ron Perlman (Hellboy) not getting any younger (61), not to mention Guillermo del Toro being so busy with other projects, Hellboy 3 is starting to look like a pipe dream.

July 18th 2008, the day The Dark Knight opened in theaters. Now for those living under a rock, this is the sequel to 2005′s Batman Begins, the fantastic reboot of the cape crusader handled by the brilliant mind of Christopher Nolan. Now Batman Begins made $372.7 million worldwide, a good number, certainly not enough to prepare us for how big The Dark Knight would become. I won’t make a big deal out of it but the untimely death of Heath Ledger (28 at the time), playing the Joker in the movie, turned more then a few heads and ears. But it was the movie that kept building hype and if Spider-Man 3 taught us anything, hugely anticipated popular superhero movies can become extremely popular at the box office. The Dark Knight was no different, grossing $158.4 million opening weekend, a new record at the time (second today). It generated $533.3 million in North America becoming the 2nd highest grosser ever (3rd today) and by far the biggest superhero movie (a title it still holds). The Dark Knight made over $1 billion worldwide (4th movie to ever get there) turning Batman in Warner’s biggest moneymaker and going as far as having them move Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (that was set to open in November 2008) to summer 2009 just so they had a big movie the following year, since they already had their fill for 2008. The Dark Knight Rises, followup to this, will open in July 2012.

As you might remember, 2008 started bad for superhero movies with the godawful Superhero Movie. It was only fitting that it would end on that same note with The Spirit. This is a movie I can only describe in so many words and those would be: REALLY BAD. The Spirit made only $39 million worldwide, so a massive disappointment on all accounts.

Watchmen, the highly anticipated big screen adaptation of the most celebrated graphic novel ever, came out in March 2009 under the direction of Zack Snyder of 300 fame. Thought by many to be impossible to adapt, making Watchmen was anything but an easy task. When it finally came out, the movie was appreciated for a lot of things it did (or tried to do) but not nearly as much as I think it deserved. For anyone interested in a more complex, brainy, superhero flick, I definitely recommend you watch this. It gets a lot more hate then it should, blue penis aside. A 163 minute R-rated superhero movie is not what you would call commercial so Watchmen only made $185.2 million worldwide on a $130 million budget. Warner were not too happy about that.

In May 2009 it was time for Fox to dust off that old X-Men license once again with a spin-off titled X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The movie tells the story of Wolverine and how he became the character we knew in the X-Men movie trilogy. Arguably the most popular of the X-Men, this was the obvious choice for a spin-off and it payed off, at least financially since fans didn’t particularly enjoy this one all that much. On a budget of $150 million, X-Men Origins: Wolverine made $373 million worldwide and a sequel simply titled The Wolverine is planned for sometime in 2013 (and yes, I am well aware they are not calling it a proper sequel).

Finally on today’s order is Kick-Ass, a weird yet awesome flick based again on a Mark Miller (Wanted) comic. Coming out in April 2010, just before the big summer craziness, Kick-Ass had a lot of internet hype that unfortunately didn’t translate into big numbers at the box office. It made only $96.1 million worldwide on a $30 million budget, so at least it made back some money. The idea of a sequel has been thrown around but so far nothing is certain.

We started in 1978 and we’re already in 2010, now there’s just one more part left to go and I promise it won’t take as long as this one. Until then, if you’ve missed any of the previous parts, you can check them right here in the links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and Part 8.

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…says the voice over man on the third and possibly final trailer for Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. As usual it looks weird and wonderful, and I believe some monster and creature lovers would call it a visual orgasm.

Around the 1 minute mark some music starts to kick in, which was also used in a trailer for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. This inevitably started to get me thinking about Jessica Alba and I have no idea what happens in the last 40+ seconds of the trailer. This is why movies shouldn’t use the same trailer music!

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We’re getting quite a few Russian trailers these days. I have no idea why. Anyway, Twitch got a Russian trailer for Hellboy II: The Golden Army and you can watch it below!

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…and they’re like ‘cool poster!’

Universal provided Empire with an exclusive new poster for Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Check it out below!

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Ever since the wonderful Guillermo del Toro’s name was in the same sentence as The Hobbit, people have been asking, begging, praying and demanding to know if he will end up being the director…and most importantly, when. There has been a lot of confusion, with respectable newspapers saying that he is a 100% lock, whereas del Toro himself says things are not a done deal just yet.

Well today Guillermo del Toro gave the fans another update via the the official message boards for Hellboy II: The Golden Army. As usual, he says that he hasn’t signed anything yet, but this time he says a little bit more that is quite interesting.

Whew- Not yet. BUT there has been a lot of movement. And for the last few weeks there has been a lot of creative / cast / crew / visual talks and agreements and we have witnessed great progress in areas that I cannot disclose or that have already leaked from other sources.

I am dying to share news but I have to be patient and wait until the papers are done and my attachment is real. Nevertheless- a LOT of progress in defining the films, their cast and crew. And, may I add, we are all happily in synch about all creative aspects so far and all willing and eager to move forth.

I cannot say more but if all’s well the time will come To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and sealing wax — Of cabbages — and kings –

May Luck be with us

GDT

PD my silnece means nothing more than the fact that we are RUNNING against an impossible deadline on the HBII film, poster, campaign, ADR, VFX, etc I am SWAMPED.

BUT- Expect good things in the next 2 weeks and a nice item at COMICON. See you there-

Its nice to hear that The Hobbit is moving along nicely, even though New Line Cinema bit the dust. However, I think they should hurry up and get Guillermo del Toro signed up. They know it will happen, he knows it will happen and we know it will happen. It’s just a case of when! WHEN!!!!????

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A couple of hours ago I said:

A trailer for Hellboy II: The Golden Army is apparently coming very soon, so keep your eyes out for that.

Guess what? Here it is!

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A trailer for Hellboy II: The Golden Army is apparently coming very soon, so keep your eyes out for that. In the meantime, Universal have released an army load of new images too keep fans happy.

If that isn’t enough for you, then click here for more!

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NBCU and cable network FX have penned a deal worth $100 million for first viewing rights to 15 titles from Universal’s 2008 line-up.  This is NBCU’s first deal of its kind with a basic cable network!

Included in the deal: Judd Appatow’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Angelina Jolie’s Wanted, and George Clooney’s Leatherheads. Also part of the agreement are upcoming films The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, with Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello; Hellboy II: The Golden Army, starring Ron Perlman and Selma Blair; Death Race, featuring Jason Statham and Joan Allen; Dennis Quaid starrer The Express; Clint Eastwood’s Changeling; Baby Mama, starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler; and The Strangers, with Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. The pact also includes the recently released films Definitely, Maybe and Doomsday.

The movies will be available for showing on the network sometime in 2010, about 28-30 months after the theatrical releases.

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The March edition of Empire Magazine has a cool new shot of Ron Perlman as Hellboy. Check it out!

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