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The suit is fine. However the Burtonverse only exist on film and in people's minds. You cannot get back what no longer exists. I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said I've seen The Flash in full since my first cinema experience.

My opinion about the World movies remains the same. But Rebirth is making me pay attention, even if I would've preferred a 90s period piece based on Sorna's evacuation. It's the presence of Koepp (JP/TLW) writing the screenplay that makes me think. He apparently has core traits of good Jurassic films that he's adhering to. For me, they'd be rain, jungle, tactical vehicles, philosophy, science, corporate espionage, horror and practical effects wherever possible. The stills that have been released do give me a wilder, atmospheric look that more evoke the first two films. I don't mind Scarlett Johansson's involvement. This could end up being more of the same rubbish, and I'm expecting some kind of woke messaging. But right now I'll give to a day in court.

If Rebirth falls apart I'm definitely all in for JP Survival. One day after the events of 1993 Nublar is the holy grail for true believers, exploring the original locations in all their glory. Fingers crossed it gets released this year.

What's odd is that TB, regardless of how my opinion fluctuates about certain elements, set the stage for big character growth. Batman was seemingly going to devote himself to crime fighting but in a less vengeful way, and Bruce was going to lighten up as well. I'm not a scriptwriter but would be excited to continue that evolution.

I'm wondering if the TV shows threw a batarang into the works and slowed down script progress. Apparently a lot of The Penguin was going to be included in Part II, but that was excised, which would require reworking on a script. But nonetheless, surely a core villain and certain plot beats would have been nailed down.

I'm okay with letting things rest to avoid audience burnout phase, but have to admit I'm feeling less confident in Batman media lately. I feel like it's been a downer. The Flash, along with the Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad games killed Batman. I think a more traditional style Batman needs a comeback after overly violent incarnations like Absolute Batman, which are over the top. I also feel like Batman has become too militarized. Shows set in the Batman universe but don't actually feature Batman don't help either.

Batman has had a great streak up to now but nothing is guaranteed.

If Reeves truly has not completed a script after all this time I have serious questions about his work ethic and concept creation. I would have thought he had strong ideas about where he wanted the story to go. Referring to someone as a perfectionist is a nice way of calling them lazy as far as I am concerned. A fan base doesn't want bad movies but they also don't want to wait five years or more. I think people would generally take more of something than less if the product was good even if not great.

I've seen talk that perhaps Reeves has been undergoing a divorce, and thus the script has withered on the vine. Sorry, that wouldn't wash with me either if true. We all have to grapple with our personal lives while at work and meet reasonable deadlines. Yes, it's just a movie and doesn't factor much in world politics. But nonetheless, a following does exist with Batman and his movies, regardless of what incarnation it may be. Capital has been laid out to reboot the franchise and create TV spin-offs. There's an obligation to build that.

But the sceptic in me thinks something else is going on. Reeves may be having to wear this exclusively because of some unspoken backroom moves – probably to keep all options open. Reeves had been saying filming was all set for next year and the story was progressing. Was he pulling legs or telling the truth? I now see The Brave and the Bold has been postponed for now, with no clear timetable. Which does go to what colors says, I think. To see how Superman (2025) performs. There's a Clayface movie set in the DCU coming out well before a hypothetical Reeves sequel – I could see them easily casting a new Batman for a cameo if they really wanted.

Let's say TB2 gets made – I think it has to be different from what was originally intended now. A time jump of some kind and perhaps another TV series beforehand. TB2 could even be reworked to serve as a conclusion to the story as well, given how insanely long it takes for the movies to have scripts written. If that's the case, I wouldn't rule out a complete scrapping. I didn't think TB2 would be delayed this long but it has been. It just takes one more update later on to end things, and move on with something more consistent and longer term.

To me TB doesn't hold up on rewatches like the others do. It's a long slog and Batman is a poor detective. He's a young year two Batman, they say. Yeah, well, B89 and BB feature young Batmans and are more competent, and to put things in perspective the comic incarnation has Robin in his third year of crime fighting. I'm tired of the realism thing now too which is limiting, especially with villain choice.

And TB didn't exactly get TDK's reception. People liked it but it wasn't THAT big of a smash.

It had a respectable showing at the box office but I know it wasn't everyone's cup of tea when they actually saw it. The brand gets people in. I honestly think a lot of the hype around the film is more niche from an online bubble and not mainstream. Nolan's trilogy in comparison, while still with the realism angle, had more vitality and cultural impact. A Reeves sequel could be better but I still couldn't see it reaching those heights. Right now with such a gap it feels like why even bother.

The Batman sequel has been delayed another year (October 2027) because apparently Reeves still hasn't completed a script.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/the-batman-sequel-moves-to-2027-1236094505/

Whether that's true, or it's corporate schenanigans going on in the background, it doesn't matter to me. Five years or more to release a sequel is absolutely unacceptable. It kills the hype and momentum of this universe. I liked Colin Farrell's Penguin and ideally the next movie would've followed soon after. But that idea is dead on arrival.

This story was meant to be following a young Batman, but now Pattinson will be 40+ by the time he suits up again. Surely the story will have to be reworked to accomodate that, if the movie gets released at all. Word is the Part II subtitle will go. I'm not wishing my life away for anything. I've soured on the Reeves Batman at times since release and this news doesn't anger me. I just find it laughably pathetic.

Truth is, Batman on film needs a good rest along with the whole comic movie factory. But if movies are to be made regardless, I can see it making more sense for the DCU Batman to push forward full steam ahead now. Nolan pushed out a Batman trilogy in seven years with The Prestige and Inception in between.

[my generation]

tl;dr- Yes, you and I are aging out. But the quality of CBMs is in steep decline as well, that much is clear. It's not all on us.

I've read the His Dark Materials books and I'm not going to watch the TV series so I can preserve that world in my head. Same thing after I re-read Harry Potter. I hardly play video games anymore...but even then I don't think games are as good as they used to be. Hell, just look at Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League in comparison to the Arkham series. Games also take much longer to develop.

I've been finding myself preferring big jigsaw puzzles while listening to podcasts, usually about heists, tales of survival or mysteries. I cycle but nowhere near as much as I used to. After a while you've done something so many times it's just not as exciting and it feels like going through the motions.

So indeed, while I genuinely do think CBMs and entertainment in general had deteriorated, my mindset plays a part. For example I occasionally think if being such a strong Batman fan/collector is even what I should be focused on or spending money on. I have enough now, surely? I get the feeling the best has already been. I also have this thought that my generation isn't up to standard of yesteryear, meaning the current crop of actors and creatives behind the scenes lacking the same charisma and talent. I really don't think they're up to it. Paraphrasing Tarantino here, they're not starts but placeholders. Movies do seem to come and go without much fanfare now.

Anyway. Let's see what happens with Superman. I'm not going to hide my biases about how I've been seeing things. I used to think taking time away from something made you appreciate something anew, almost like the first time. But that's not entirely true from my experience. If Corenswet and Gunn end up pleasing the fanbase with this Reeve era bedrock that's fine. It seems that's what they want even if I don't agree with the philosophy. I'm not a huge fan so why should I care so much if they don't?

But for whatever reason, it's always two steps forward, and one step back with Superman. Where the refuge of Donner's version, and the whimsical silver age, is always there to go running back to. Perhaps this is me speaking as a child of the post-crisis Superman era (and I would place STAS in that as well, since it was definitely Post-Crisis adjacent), that achieved a quite admirable job in pushing past the silver/bronze age eras, but when it comes cinematic depictions? I'm afraid the that sort of earnestness we saw in the late 1980's and throughout the 1990s, almost always takes a back seat to playing it safe.

Absolutely true. There's a part of me that would like to see this movie fail for that very reason, and to cheer on Doomsday while he pounds Superman into the ground and kills him permanently. Imagine Schumacher, Nolan, Snyder and Reeves films all with the same Elfman Batman Theme and general aesthetic. Imagine what we would've missed out on just because they wanted to be lazy and play it safe.

I'm feeling f***ing over a lot of things now anyway. And that includes The Batman series with Reeves. This is a Superman thread but the more I think about that incarnation of Batman the more I find fault with character choices. The genre does feel played out or simply just not the same in general. I'm still wondering if it's me that changed or the genre. I'm thinking it's a bit of both.

For those lamenting the familiarity and lack of boldness in this new film, it's worth remembering how close we came to getting a very fresh, bold and different Superman movie from Jar Jar Abrams and Ta-Nehisi Coates. That fan-baiting film would've been well received by critics, but less so by fans. Considering the current ideological preoccupations of the film industry, the fact we're getting such a traditional and familiar take on Superman is a massive win in itself. The alternative, which came dangerously close to happening, could've been a lot worse.

You're not wrong there. Whatever this ends up being would automatically be preferable to the JJ project. I will say the one segment that did raise my interest was Superman punching through the glass, presumably being held captive by Lex. That had a spark about it. I wouldn't mind seeing more of that.

I love All-Star Superman. It's probably my favourite Superman comic, so I'm happy to see Gunn taking influence from it.

I'd say mine are Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, Earth One and Death of Superman.

I admire MoS and even BvS even more now as time marches on. It was a brief window that has gone and will probably never return. I loved how it was truly contemporary, wiping the slate clean without keeping its feet in the past visually or musically. Abandoning Zimmer's theme from WhedonLeague onwards was very disappointing to me and especially in that timeline it didn't make sense. Now Williams is here to stay full time and with the trunks. Snyder could have pushed the darkness too hard (your mileage may vary) but I think the groundwork made sense. But doing that was still a radical action for sections of the fanbase. I just don't accept that Superman only works with a Reeve foundation. But here we are again. No matter what is different it still feels like Groundhog Day. So indeed, while I'm not expecting spying on families, the Singerman comparison is still there.

Honestly? I can't say that I am all that interested in this. I wanted to reserve judgement until I saw a actual trailer, and ehhhh ... it just looks like more of the same. A fanciful and whimsical "world" where Superheroes are literally all over the place. So, effectively, just like what we've already been getting for nearly 20 years with the Disney's MCU now? Doesn't exactly scream fresh does it? I get that the film will try and make Supes the standout amongst the established heroes and all that jazz (Gunn literally cannot help himself in littering his superhero films with a mosaic of characters), but it's just a little too "Smallville: The Movie" to my liking.

If anything, I can't help but get Bryan Singer "Superman Returns" vibes from this. Another film that had positive reactions from teasers/trailers/ect, and why wouldn't it? Singer was coming off of X1 and X2, so he certainly had the wind to his back with Superman (I also distinctly remember if you said anything contrarian about Singer's SR, you were usually met with a Kevin Spacey Lex Luthor "WRONG" meme ad nauseam lol).

Then the film came out, and there was a element of stodginess to the proceedings. Which I can't shake with this as well. As it comes across as a barrage of "best of", rather than going with something truly bold, unique, and unwonted by what we've already seen. That, I think, was just one of the major mistakes with Bryan Singer's take, and it could very well hold true here as well. Since, yeah, we're getting crystal Krypton/Fortress (again), goofy/clumsy Clark Kent (again), a variation of the John Williams theme (again ... which let's say I am of two minds. One it's a masterful theme, but at the same time, I very much think the same of Danny Elfman's Batman theme. Do I think it should've been included in Nolan's films, or in the Reevesverse? Not particularly. We're back to the stodgy point again with this.), and a (again) a more whimsical world compared to Sndyer's MOS. Which, unfortunately, isn't anything new these days since we've been absolutely saturated with that sort of "superhero cluttered world" with all the stuff that's happened with the MCU narrative of movies from 2008!

I also agree with TDK about nothing being a sure thing with it comes to Superman. To expand upon this, when SR came out in the summer of 2006, it was accompanied with merchandise and promotional tie in products up the wazoo. Also, it enjoyed the distinction of having a director who previously enjoyed major success within the comic movie genre, and outside of the genre as well (Usual Suspects). SR also had the distinction of being the very first cinematic Superman since Christopher Reeve about 19 years prior to 2006. Yet, it was the slowest crawl to $200 million domestic in recent memory. Where I think it finally hit that milestone just a week or two prior to the DVD release that Nov. Snyder's MOS was somewhere in the $600 million range I think, and that was during the height of the Superhero movie craze. We're on the other side of that, so yeah, I get that WB has essentially bet the farm on this, so to say they have a lot riding on this is an understatement.

Wasn't super surprised the trailer didn't mention anything about "The Suicide Squad", are you?

Colors, I think I would be a little more enthusiastic if Guy looked a little bit more like how EVS depicted him during the GL Rebirth era, and not like as if he literally just walked off the CW back lot. Or to a lesser extent, a SNL skit. I guess we gotta get those chuckles in there somewhere.

^ You can always trust the judgement of Uncle Bingo.

The suit doesn't translate that well from the set pics (it does have a cosplay appearance at times), nor do I like the Clark Kent hair. Corenswet has the general appearance but does he have movie star presence and charisma? That remains to be seen. The first we see Superman he's beaten up on the snow, which is an odd first reveal. Crashing down to the ground brings to mind the MoS first flight, but this looks like a visually inferior knockoff. Kal superwhistles for Krypto but there isn't any snow blowing up from that action, and why is the dog running and not flying? I think Jonathan Kent looks miscast, and they could've done better than Hoult IMO.

The movie might be better than my initial first impressions. But if it is, the ball has been fumbled with the marketing so far. Same goes with the first still photograph that revealed the suit. Just because it's Superman doesn't automatically equal bums on seats. If anything history shows that's a negative. In the character's filmic absence people have moved on, prefer other characters and those stances have hardened. I will be very interested to see the box office.