Are Superhero Movies Getting Too Much Hype?
Content Editor, Film Critic and Writer for ComiConverse.com, the Founder and co-host of the official Nerdcast Network Podcast
Are Superhero movies saturating the market?
In the next couple years we will be getting forty one superhero movies which is enough to make the biggest geek melt.
The silver age for comic book movies is upon us, with so many films released in the last 20 years. It all started with the dawn of the X-Men franchise, which helped shape the look of the industry all the way back in 1999 which.
2016 is looking like the biggest year for this, with the likes of Batman v Superman and Captain America: Civil War being release to name a few.
Now are we overhyping these upcoming films?
Every day it feels like an announcement is being made for comic book movies and with the 2015 edition of San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) around the corner, more will surely follow.
Studios are trying their hardest nowadays to promote their movies and sometimes it gets out of hand with huge numbers of new TV spots or posters being released. There’s nothing wrong with getting the word out, but what happened to the days where everything was announced in the cinema? Many of the details of movies like Avengers: Age of Ultron were known prior to the film's actual release.
Now we know that technology has granted studios a bigger range when it comes to promotion with Social media evolving and opening up new channels. However, I still think there is something about visiting the cinema for a surprise trailer ahead of a film. Remember watching the first Spider-Man trailer in your theatre seat?
That experience is something that never happens anymore with the heavy movie house promotion. The other day my sister saw the Dawn of Justice trailer for the first time while watching Age of Ultron which made me tear up.
It made me realise that we are spoiled rotten. With today’s film marketing standards, I miss those days from our childhood where you would be surprised in the cinema with the first trailer.
Those days are over now, with trailers being published online many months before their release dates. Because of this we overhype movies with almost no footage and sometimes merely with the movie's title.
A good example is the 2017 Justice League film, which has only has been revealed in title with no villains or plot elements revealed. Yet we are all dying to see the film with no details. This worries me because of the speed at which studios can just take our beloved characters from comic books and turn them into franchises.
Are they leaving the well too dry?
Because they know that audiences will flock to the theatres at the release dates, we have had to endure movies like Green Lantern and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 which felt poorly constructed and were ultimately disappointments for their franchises.
Sony and Warner Bros have learned their lessons by focusing on the characters and not milking the movie rights. With Spider-Man now back at home in the Marvel cinematic universe and DC taking time to get things right with its products, these superheroes will soon get another shot at the big time.
These money grabbing stunts are something that happens unfortunately in this industry. Let's hope this stops within the next couple years, because these characters deserve the best from treatment Hollywood.
I’m afraid that our inner geek is something that promoters will use to their advantage, and we are likely to see evidence of this at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con panels.
So from now on, let’s try and keep our cool when details and trailers arrive, because hype can sometimes lead into massive disappointments for nerds and geeks everywhere.
Let’s unite and enjoy this wonderful age of superhero movies over the next few years!
Does anyone feel the same way? Let us know in the comment section.
Jordan Samuel is a Contributor for ComiConverse. Follow him on Twitter @Loadingba