Whenever I have talked about the fate of Superhero movies and how much this monopolization of the industry through Marvel and DC flicks is affecting us, I always resort back to what Steven Spielberg said in early 2013, about the superhero genre "imploding" like the Western did in the '60s. The actual quote is this:
“We were around when the Western died and there will be a time when the superhero movie goes the way of the Western. It doesn’t mean there won’t be another occasion where the Western comes back and the superhero movie someday returns. Of course, right now the superhero movie is alive and thriving. I’m only saying that these cycles have a finite time in popular culture. There will come a day when the mythological stories are supplanted by some other genre that possibly some young filmmaker is just thinking about discovering for all of us.”
That quote always gives me hope that sunnier days will surely be ahead for Hollywood creativity and artful intentions, but that feeling sunk down to the deepest end of the abyss this afternoon when I learned that, of all people, Spielberg himself is now gonna tackle the superhero genre. I mean, really?
Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment have teamed up with Warner Bros. Pictures to produce the action adventure “Blackhawk,” which is based on the DC Comics series of the same name.
THR reports that Spielberg is looking to direct "Blackhawk" as well as producing it with WB.
The Wrap has this on the comic book the film would be based on:
"Blackhawk is the leader of a small team of ace pilots who fight tyranny and oppression — including Axis powers as well as various supervillains –while operating from a hidden base known only as “Blackhawk Island.” The comic book debuted in 1941 and features team members from around the world, with Blackhawk himself generally portrayed as a Polish freedom fighter."
So there is hope as this is less a gimmicky superhero flick and more of a WW2 movie. That's fine with me, but we can expect a PG-13 rating for optimal box-office.
The screenplay for “Blackhawk” is being written by David Koepp, who also wrote Spielberg's “Jurassic Park,” (good) “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” (meh) “War of the Worlds” (good) and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” (oh, God).
Before he tackles the DC universe, Spielberg is set to go into production and direct the fifth Indiana Jones, with a 75-year-old Harrison Ford, and then a remake of the classic musical “West Side Story.” Spielberg is 71 but has a stacked few years ahead.
What does this tell me? It basically says Spielberg has all but left the mini Howard Hawkes phase of his career ("Lincoln," "Bridge of Spies," and "The Post") for mass entertainment blockbusters. He was supposed to start shooting the long-delayed "The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara" but that has been put on the back-burner, for now, as "Ready Player One" has put him in a sort of millennial-pleasing mode.