Zack Snyder's Justice League and the new landscape of big event films direct to streaming
Any fellow Snyderverse fans here? Maybe even a #ReleaseTheSnyderCut community member?
I'm a superfan of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and I can't wait to see Zack Snyder's vision for the saga continued with ZSJL. It will air first as a miniseries on HBO Max in four one hour chapters. Then it will be available as a four hour film. It will be available in both color and black and white (Kodachrome) versions. Just the other day according to HBO Max's CEO Jason Killar it's just a few months away, probably releasing this March.
HBO Max wants ZSJL to be their tentpole original big budget series. Their Stranger Things, Mandolorian, Game of Thrones, etc. Sucess on a streaming platform is measured by whether a movie or show appears to drive up subscriptions, it's number of views, and whether it trends week to week on social media.
Nobody gives a shit about Rotten Tomatoes anymore now, thank God. Critics are becoming irrelevant in this new economic climate of paying a monthly streaming subscription versus spending $50 for a couple to spend a night out at a movie theater.
Just a day or two ago HBO Max/WB Pictures drove a big nail in the coffin of the movie theater industry as we knew it pre-pandemic. They're going to release not just Wonder Woman '84 both on HBO Max (for the first 30 days only) and alongside whichever movie theaters are still open--but also their entire slate of 2021 movies. In addition to WW84 that includes CGI heavy event films such as Dune, The Suicide Squad, Kong vs. Godzilla, Mortal Combat, and Matrix 4. So with an event film like that appearing about every other month on HBO Max, customers that sign up to watch WW84 on Christmas Day will be more likely to keep their subscriptions in the months to follow.
I think the movie theater industry will survive, but through adaptation. They'll scale down to only giant 4K HDR IMAX screens with the latest state of the art thundering Dolby surround sound for the big event films. It will be high tech and similar in concept to the experience of a music concert. Also, movie theaters may move to push a monthly subscription for theater showings as well. I.e., watch any film as many times as you wish for a monthly fee. Tickets for individual screenings will become more even more expensive than they are now in order to drive consumers towards subscription.
Mid-budget films will still be a staple for the entertainment industry. But dramas, comedies, rom-coms, etc., will go straight to streaming platforms.
Anyway I bring up the changing landscape for films because it factors in so strongly for whether ZSJL will continue on with additonal seasons. Snyder had originally planned a five film saga. If ZSJL is even moderately successful as a streaming product, I do think we'll see ZSJL seasons 2 and 3 (and like ZSJL season 1 also released eventually as films).
I do think Ben Affleck will agree to return to complete the Snyder character arc for Batman. Whether he'll want to make a Batman film or miniseries for HBO Max, I have my doubts. But time will tell.
And per Jim Lee, renowned comic book artist and creative lead for DC Comic products at AT&T/HBO Max/WarnerMax/WB Pictures, they're using the multiverse design. So other DC Comics characters' solo films such as Matt Reeves' The Batman with Robert Pattinson... James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, James Wan's Aquaman 2... Black Adam... they will all stand alone in their own discreet universes. As will Zack Snyder's five film saga. Comic books have been doing this for decades already.
I'm a superfan of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and I can't wait to see Zack Snyder's vision for the saga continued with ZSJL. It will air first as a miniseries on HBO Max in four one hour chapters. Then it will be available as a four hour film. It will be available in both color and black and white (Kodachrome) versions. Just the other day according to HBO Max's CEO Jason Killar it's just a few months away, probably releasing this March.
HBO Max wants ZSJL to be their tentpole original big budget series. Their Stranger Things, Mandolorian, Game of Thrones, etc. Sucess on a streaming platform is measured by whether a movie or show appears to drive up subscriptions, it's number of views, and whether it trends week to week on social media.
Nobody gives a shit about Rotten Tomatoes anymore now, thank God. Critics are becoming irrelevant in this new economic climate of paying a monthly streaming subscription versus spending $50 for a couple to spend a night out at a movie theater.
Just a day or two ago HBO Max/WB Pictures drove a big nail in the coffin of the movie theater industry as we knew it pre-pandemic. They're going to release not just Wonder Woman '84 both on HBO Max (for the first 30 days only) and alongside whichever movie theaters are still open--but also their entire slate of 2021 movies. In addition to WW84 that includes CGI heavy event films such as Dune, The Suicide Squad, Kong vs. Godzilla, Mortal Combat, and Matrix 4. So with an event film like that appearing about every other month on HBO Max, customers that sign up to watch WW84 on Christmas Day will be more likely to keep their subscriptions in the months to follow.
I think the movie theater industry will survive, but through adaptation. They'll scale down to only giant 4K HDR IMAX screens with the latest state of the art thundering Dolby surround sound for the big event films. It will be high tech and similar in concept to the experience of a music concert. Also, movie theaters may move to push a monthly subscription for theater showings as well. I.e., watch any film as many times as you wish for a monthly fee. Tickets for individual screenings will become more even more expensive than they are now in order to drive consumers towards subscription.
Mid-budget films will still be a staple for the entertainment industry. But dramas, comedies, rom-coms, etc., will go straight to streaming platforms.
Anyway I bring up the changing landscape for films because it factors in so strongly for whether ZSJL will continue on with additonal seasons. Snyder had originally planned a five film saga. If ZSJL is even moderately successful as a streaming product, I do think we'll see ZSJL seasons 2 and 3 (and like ZSJL season 1 also released eventually as films).
I do think Ben Affleck will agree to return to complete the Snyder character arc for Batman. Whether he'll want to make a Batman film or miniseries for HBO Max, I have my doubts. But time will tell.
And per Jim Lee, renowned comic book artist and creative lead for DC Comic products at AT&T/HBO Max/WarnerMax/WB Pictures, they're using the multiverse design. So other DC Comics characters' solo films such as Matt Reeves' The Batman with Robert Pattinson... James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, James Wan's Aquaman 2... Black Adam... they will all stand alone in their own discreet universes. As will Zack Snyder's five film saga. Comic books have been doing this for decades already.
Post edited by Lemernis on
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