A couple of months ago, rumors began swirling that Guillermo del Toro was planning a movie set in the DC Universe called Heaven Sent that would pair a number of supernatural heroes like John Constantine, Zatanna, Deadman, and Swamp Thing together. Unfortunately, del Toro's name tends to find itself attached to a number of promising projects that never come to fruition (i.e. - At the Mountains of Madness).
Luckily, DC fans were given new reason to be hopeful this week. As del Toro told IGN yesterday, he really is planning a supernatural DC movie, and its working title is now Dark Universe. He's currently writing a plot outline that another mystery writer will expand into a full script. But with Warners still catching up to Marvel Studios in terms of big-budget superhero blockbusters, and with many of their future movie plans remaining murky, can a movie like Dark Universe find the footing it needs? Is this a recipe for cinematic success, or is it doomed to sink into development hell? We can't say, but we have some suggestions as to how del Toro and his collaborators can make the most out of this unique venture into the DC Universe.
That's something we'd like to see reflected in Dark Universe. Frankly, Hollywood has enough superhero franchises to sustain it for years. Audiences already know and love the Avengers, Batman, Superman, and Wolverine. And hey, Green Lantern had a movie too. If upcoming franchise debuts like Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man are going to succeed, they need to move away from the traditional superhero tropes and embrace what makes them different. In the case of those two movies, it's the blend of superhero action with science fiction that sets them apart. For Dark Universe, it's all about the horror and fantasy elements.
Ideally, an uninitiated viewer should walk into the movie and never think of Dark Universe as a superhero film. If anything, we picture the movie being more like Indiana Jones with its pulpy feel, globe-trotting scope, and general sense of excitement and mystery. These aren't the sort of characters who solve their problems by punching them in the face repeatedly. The action scenes should be more surreal and psychedelic, befitting a cast that includes a body-stealing ghost, a magician who casts spells by speaking backwards, and a giant swamp monster. Dark Universe should be a visual effects showcase, but not necessarily in the same way movies like The Avengers are. Del Toro's talent for creating unique worlds and creature designs will surely come in handy here.
One traditional superhero movie element we want to see remain is the humor. Looking at the various DC comics that feature a similar gathering of supernatural heroes (Shadowpact, Justice League Dark, Demon Knights), humor is the common factor. Characters like John Constantine, Zatanna, and Deadman are nothing if not troubled and emotionally unstable. They don't take to the heroic life as easily as the Supermans and Wonder Womans of the DCU. And when you put them in the same room together, they're bound to butt heads with one another. Nobody - human, demon, or god - gets along well with John Constantine. If the script can offer the same sort of boisterous, hilarious team dynamic that The Avengers did, that alone may guarantee the movie's success.
The conflict in Dark Universe will almost certainly be larger-than-life and epic in scope. It's important to anchor the movie by hinging on a handful of characters whom audiences can identify with. There needs to be a healthy dose of human drama amid the battles with demonic and otherworldly enemies. Luckily, the characters del Toro has mentioned so far are well-suited to that sort of treatment.
John Constantine would be an excellent primary protagonist for the movie. Constantine already made his Hollywood debut a decade ago, but Keanu Reeves' Constantine bore little resemblance to the one seen in the various comics. The traditional Constantine is blond-haired and British. He's a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, alcohol-guzzling con man who relies as much on luck and cleverness as he does magical ability. He's not one to be impressed by the all-powerful beings of the DCU or their problems. Constantine is capable of great heroism, but normally he's only concerned with looking out for himself and his small circle of friends.
Zatanna could be another strong focal point of the film. For one thing, this expert magician has a long history with Constantine, a history that is being explored in greater depth in Justice League Dark these days. Every "hero" needs a romantic foil, and Zatanna is certainly that to Constantine. But she has plenty of potential as a lead in her own right. Zatanna's early heroic career centered around trying to establish herself outside the legacy of her father, the famous magician Zatara. By presenting Zatanna as a rookie still learning the ropes of DC's magical landscape, viewers could have their grounded lead character.
Zatanna also has the benefit of a certain amount of mainstream recognition value the other characters might lack. Between her recurring roles on Justice League Unlimited and Young Justice, TV viewers should already be reasonably well acquainted with the backward-speaking heroine.
But plenty of other supernatural characters still carry that grounded, human aspect. Swamp Thing is an outwardly fearsome monster whose central struggle involves the question, "Am I still human or a mere echo of the man I once was?" Deadman is a ghost whose misdeeds in life have cursed him to exist in a perpetual state between life and death. Only by temporarily assuming control of another person's body can he remember what being alive was like. Any of these characters have enough flaws and personal troubles to properly ground the movie. It's all in how the writers choose to frame them.
With the regular Justice League movie, part of the issue is that origin sequences are redundant and unnecessary. Pretty much everyone on the planet knows Superman's story. Christopher Nolan only recently explored batman's beginnings in painstaking, psychological detail. And even if Wonder Woman, The Flash and Aquaman haven't starred in big-budget Hollywood movies, the average moviegoer has at least some familiarity with the characters and what makes them unique.
Unfortunately, Dark Universe doesn't have that advantage. Constantine had his movie, but as mentioned, it took so many liberties with that story that he may as well have been a different character entirely. But even if audiences might not be well exposed to the stars of Dark Universe, we still don't want to see Del Toro and his crew devoting unnecessary time to exploring origin stories. Take Marvel Studios' movies as an example. SHIELD characters like Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Hawkeye have all appeared in multiple films by now. These movies have never bothered to explain exactly how these characters came to be where they are or how much of Fury or Widow's colorful comic book history holds true in the movie universe. Audiences don't care if Widow may or may not be a former Russian spy who doesn't age. They just want to be entertained by these characters.
The same should hold true for this cast. We don't need to see every major beat of Constantine's life or the murder that turned Boston Brand into Deadman or the man Jason Blood once was before he bonded to the demon Etrigan. That material is better saved for solo moves. If audiences respond better to Constantine this time around, then WB can pursue a reboot movie that explores his sordid solo adventures. If a character's origin has direct bearing on the movie's overarching conflict (such as the creation of Swamp Thing), then it might be worth including. But generally, we'd rather see a movie that throws viewers right into the action and doesn't fret much about history and continuity.
Aside from the input of inner-ups like Chief Creator Officer Geoff Johns, WB has shown less of an overt interest in involving DC's creators in their recent movies. Ideally, that trend will start to shift as WB looks beyond the Superman and Batman franchises. Though del Toro is currently writing an outline for Dark Universe, he won't be penning the final script. He's hinted that he already has a secret writer in mind for that task. Is it too much to hope that this mystery person might be a DC creator?
Current speculation is that Dark Universe will be based on "American Gothic," a storyline from Alan Moore's Swamp Thing series that paired the titular character with John Constantine and a host of other DC regulars. In a perfect world, Moore himself might be called upon to adapt his work for the screen. However, Moore has very loudly and publicly washed his hands of all that after bad experiences on movies like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and V for Vendetta. A more likely candidate would be Neil Gaiman, a writer who has done as much as anyone to build up DC's fantasy and supernatural properties and establish comics as a medium full of adult, intelligent stories. Gaiman's has plenty of Hollywood experience at this point. His hand would give Dark Universe just the spark of life and originality it needs.
Other creators and stories should be looked to for inspiration as well. The most obvious source is Justice League Dark. This relatively young series (written first by Peter Milligan and now by Jeff Lemire) is a ready-made template for Dark Universe. It features man yof the same characters bound together in an impromptu team and dealing with the worst magical threats the DCU has to offer. Paul Cornell's Demon Knights features a similar premise, albeit set hundreds of years in the past and starring ageless characters like Vandal Savage and Etrigan. Cornell would be another prime candidate to actually pen the movie script. Cornell has made a name for himself writing for British shows like Doctor Who, and his unique blend of fantastical adventure and humor would suit this film well.
Day of Vengeance is another DC story worth looking to for inspiration. That mini-series saw an eclectic band of magical warriors team up to halt the warpath of the Spectre as he declared war on all magic. Day of Vengeance offered the exact sort of dynamic we're looking for from Dark Universe - quirky, flawed characters juxtaposed against an epic conflict than spans the entire DCU. And it stars Detective Chimp. If DC has a hope of competing with Marvel once Rocket Raccoon makes his Hollywood debut, they'll need Detective Chimp to answer the call.
Similarly, we expect that Dark Universe will serve as a springboard for a number of spinoff properties. We'd love to see a properly executed series of Constantine and Swamp Thing movies. The latter character in particular has a rich mythology that really needs its own platform in which to be explored. Characters like Zatanna could also thrive on their own given the right treatment.
However, Dark Universe has the opportunity to do more than just lay the groundwork for new Swamp Thing movies or Zatanna movies or Deadman movies. The sky is really the limit with this property. One of the advantages Warner Bros. has over Marvel Studios is that every corner of the DC Universe is available to them. They aren't hindered by the fact that certain characters are locked up by different studios. Dark Universe could be the first real glimpse casual DC fans have of the vast scope of this universe. The Justice league movie will probably remain focused on Earth, featuring a small cast of A-list heroes and whatever villain they happen to clash with. Dark Universe isn't really bound by any limitations. The focus can shift across time and to other planets or dimensions.
We want the movie to reflect the wider DCU as much as possible without distracting from the story itself. Warners can throw in a few cameos of more familiar DC characters if they want to remind viewers that it's all part of the same universe. With a few well-placed appearances of characters like Cain and Abel and the House of Secrets, the movie can even start preparing for the Sandman movie that everyone has been craving for the last 20 years. Far more than Justice League ever could, Dark Universe can signal the true rebirth of the DC Universe in Hollywood.
Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
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