WARNERS BRINGING TEEN TITANS TO THE SCREEN

[MattBrady]

Add the Teen Titans to the growing list of movies based on DC Comics that are in the works, this according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The trade reported today that Warner Bros. Pictures is looking to bring the popular DC property to the big screen, with Akiva Goldsman and Kerry Foster through producing through their Weed Road banner, and Mark (Superman/Batman, Battlestar Galactica) Verheiden attached to write the script.

While The Hollywood Reporter gives a brief rundown of the team’s history, makeup and statue at DC Comics, its report offered very little in the way of cast details, aside from saying that Nightwing is reportedly in the mix of heroes. Nightwing's inclusion - rather than Robin's - may be a telling sign of what's to come in the film, as projects that cross properties will face issues with character use, as "Robin" is attached to the Batman franchise, "Superboy" would likely be connected to the Superman franchise, "Wonder Girl" with the struggling Wonder Woman film project, and likely, "Kid Flash" with the Flash film, which is continually trying to find its feet. As such, various characters, while they may appear together in comics, may not be able to appear in the film version of their team, as different production companies hold the rights and control of the characters in film.

Of course, with the Titans, this may not be a huge issue, as Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, Jericho, Terra, and literally dozens of other characters (both from comics and the animated series) are not attached to other, larger franchises.

While the franchise has enjoyed a renewed popularity at DC, thanks to Geoff Johns' stories on the series, the Titans perhaps reached their largest audience when they starred in their own animated series on Cartoon Network which lasted for 65 episodes from 2003-2006. The heroes are slated to make a return to animation as part of DC/Warners' direct to DVD animated movie line in 2008 in an adaptation of "The Judas Contract" storyline. Long-time Titans comic writer Marv Wolfman is adapting that story for animation.

The announcement of the film version is the latest in what seems to be a trend of studios looking to move from single-hero superhero films to “team-based” or multiple hero projects, as it has already been announced that film versions of DC’s Justice League, the Doom Patrol, Watchmen, David Goyer's "SuperMax," and Marvel’s Avengers are in various stages of planning or very early pre-production. Smallville led the way in this regard for DC, with various teen versions of its popular adult heroes appearing on the CW television series.

Additionally, the Teen Titans film is the latest comic book movie project announced for Goldsman and Weed Road, as he also is working on film versions of Doom Patrol and The Losers, as well as Tonight He Comes, starring Will Smith. Goldsman told THR that he intends for the film to be consistent in tone with Warners’ more recent comic book film projects such as Batman Begins, Superman Returns and Watchmen, which is important to comic book and genre fans, as Goldsman wrote both Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, with the Joel Schumacher-directed latter reviled in the eyes of many fans as the film that stopped Warner's Batman film franchise cold.

Jessica Goodman and Jesse Ehrman are overseeing for Warners, while Gregory Noveck is overseeing for DC Comics.

updated 6:08 am.

[BryanS7]

So this is completely independent from the animated movie coming out based on an old Wolfman/Perez story? I never thought Titan interest was so high, but I guess that television show did better than I'd realized. Akiva's name doesn't give me the highest of hopes, though.

[Pack]

This could be good if done well but bad if it isn't.




(Someone always makes this dumb and obvious comment when talking about movie adaptations so I thought I should be the first. Oh, yeah, and I'm posting to Newsarama so I should add that I've hated every comic book property adapted to film, especially the popular ones.)

[sexyjesus]

Originally Posted by Pack

This could be good if done well but bad if it isn't.




(Someone always makes this dumb and obvious comment when talking about movie adaptations so I thought I should be the first. Oh, yeah, and I'm posting to Newsarama so I should add that I've hated every comic book property adapted to film, especially the popular ones.)

Heck, that's said about every property in comics. Its incredibly annoying.

[vanillacyke]

This is really cool, but it's gonna be forever before this sucker get's made. I can't believe how long it's taken Iron Man to finally get off the ground. I mean just last summer it was said Doom Patrol was gonna be a movie and I'm still waiting for news on that. Uggghhh this is gonna take forever and I'm way to damn impatient. I want Nightwing and the Teen Titans now.

[Lord MaGnUs]

Now, if only we could get Jessica Biel to be Starfire....




Picture her in a metal bikini and flaming red hair....

[heyitsbrian]

Does it bother anyone else that the person that wrote Batman and Robin is intending on writing this movie?

[sexyjesus]

He also wrote A Beautiful Mind. Evidently, he can get better, but also worse (DaVinci Code).

[Pack]

Originally Posted by heyitsbrian

Does it bother anyone else that the person that wrote Batman and Robin is intending on writing this movie?

Does it bother anyone else that if this poster read the very short article, he or she would see that Akiva Goldsman was supposed to produce and Mark Verheiden was supposed to write but felt compelled to post anyway?

[MattBrady]

Originally Posted by Pack

Does it bother anyone else that if this poster read the very short article, he or she would see that Akiva Goldsman was supposed to produce and Mark Verheiden was supposed to write but felt compelled to post anyway?

almost as much as the fact that someone would post this: "(Someone always makes this dumb and obvious comment when talking about movie adaptations so I thought I should be the first. Oh, yeah, and I'm posting to Newsarama so I should add that I've hated every comic book property adapted to film, especially the popular ones.)"

does irony hurt when it hits, or is it kind of like a breeze?

MattB

[KraziJoe]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

almost as much as the fact that someone would post this: "(Someone always makes this dumb and obvious comment when talking about movie adaptations so I thought I should be the first. Oh, yeah, and I'm posting to Newsarama so I should add that I've hated every comic book property adapted to film, especially the popular ones.)"

does irony hurt when it hits, or is it kind of like a breeze?

MattB

Well, I didn't hate EVERY adaptation, Howard the Duck was awesome!

[wmshakes124]

Is it actually necessary to turn EVERYTHING into a film? Are books, short stories, comic books, etc. just the testing ground for film scripts? These are two very different genres with their own ways and means of presenting things. While I have been happy with some of the films that have been produced recently, and unhappy with others, I am not sure that it is smart to try and turn everything into a film. When I saw this news, I was reminded of something I saw one from Alan Moore:

"With a comic, you can take as much time as you want in absorbing that background detail, noticing little things that we might have planted there. You can also flip back a few pages relatively easily to see where a certain image connects with a line of dialogue from a few pages ago. But in a film, by the nature of the medium, you're being dragged through it at 24 frames per second." ~Alan Moore

The films are often awkward and loose the depth of the comic original. While I thought Batman Begins was good, there was still a strangeness to it everytime I saw that costume. These characters work best on the page.

Moreover, it's not like anyone is making these films for the fans. Unfortunately, there are not enough of us that anyone will really ever pay attention to what we want--even if we could agree amongst ourselves on what we want. If anything, these are just great big money-making ploys by studios that could care less about these characters, their backgrounds, their long histories, and the multitude of ways they have been rewritten and represented.

I think it would be great to hear some day that DC, Marvel, or someone else turned down an opportunity to make a film out of this or that comic book.

But, if it has to be so, then yes, Jessica Biel should run around in a bikini (or less).

[SeamusMcClernan]

You said weed.

[efryed]

Well, darn.

I love the Teen Titans cartoon, but really hate the other versions. This probably means I'll never see my version of the characters again ...

[powerboy]

I don't know why, but the non-"main" TTs have never really captured my interest. Not having Robin/Nightwing, Superboy, Wonder Girl, and Kid Flash would kill my interest in the project.
Much as it did in the comic post-IC.

[HighSky316]

Originally Posted by KraziJoe

Well, I didn't hate EVERY adaptation, Howard the Duck was awesome!

That certainly don't help your credibility.

It'd be interesting to see what they can possibly do to make it work, so I'll just say my curiosity is piqued.

[Timberoo]

Since there are the legal and rights issues, there are creative ways they can get around that and still make a good movie that is along the spirit of the book.

So you have Nightwing instead of Robin, Impulse instead of Kid Flash, Tempest instead of Aqualad, Arsenal instead of Speedy and Troia instead of Wonder Girl for the original 5. Not that huge a deal.

[djm72]

It would be great if some of these films based on DC properties would actually get made. They just keep announcing projects, but nothing comes of them. The announcements I want to see are "shooting has begun" and "the release date is".

[Blackbeard]

I hope for the best for this film. A Teen Titans movie could definitely be cool!

[sexyjesus]

Originally Posted by Timberoo

Since there are the legal and rights issues, there are creative ways they can get around that and still make a good movie that is along the spirit of the book.

So you have Nightwing instead of Robin, Impulse instead of Kid Flash, Tempest instead of Aqualad, Arsenal instead of Speedy and Troia instead of Wonder Girl for the original 5. Not that huge a deal.

Then it wouldn't be a TEEN Titan movie anymore.

[WildcardZ]

Originally Posted by Lord MaGnUs

Now, if only we could get Jessica Biel to be Starfire....




Picture her in a metal bikini and flaming red hair....

I always picture her as Wonder Woman, but Starfire would be cool.

[WildcardZ]

Originally Posted by wmshakes124

Is it actually necessary to turn EVERYTHING into a film? Are books, short stories, comic books, etc. just the testing ground for film scripts? These are two very different genres with their own ways and means of presenting things. While I have been happy with some of the films that have been produced recently, and unhappy with others, I am not sure that it is smart to try and turn everything into a film. When I saw this news, I was reminded of something I saw one from Alan Moore:

"With a comic, you can take as much time as you want in absorbing that background detail, noticing little things that we might have planted there. You can also flip back a few pages relatively easily to see where a certain image connects with a line of dialogue from a few pages ago. But in a film, by the nature of the medium, you're being dragged through it at 24 frames per second." ~Alan Moore

The films are often awkward and loose the depth of the comic original. While I thought Batman Begins was good, there was still a strangeness to it everytime I saw that costume. These characters work best on the page.

Moreover, it's not like anyone is making these films for the fans. Unfortunately, there are not enough of us that anyone will really ever pay attention to what we want--even if we could agree amongst ourselves on what we want. If anything, these are just great big money-making ploys by studios that could care less about these characters, their backgrounds, their long histories, and the multitude of ways they have been rewritten and represented.

I think it would be great to hear some day that DC, Marvel, or someone else turned down an opportunity to make a film out of this or that comic book.

But, if it has to be so, then yes, Jessica Biel should run around in a bikini (or less).

I won't be as good as the source material, but that is true of almost any piece of literature adapted to a movie. If they get the characters right and put them in a good story, that is as good as its going to get. Hollywood has fewer original ideas every year, so it should come as no suprise that they would turn to comics. They have huge summer blockbuster written all over them.

[Timberoo]

Originally Posted by sexyjesus

Then it wouldn't be a TEEN Titan movie anymore.

If they use teenagers then yes, it would be.

[SpyGuy]

Tim Curry for Trigon, anyone?

[kennyab]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

While The Hollywood Reporter gives a brief rundown of the team’s history, makeup and statue at DC Comics, its report offered very little in the way of cast details, aside from saying that Nightwing is reportedly in the mix of heroes. Nightwing's inclusion - rather than Robin's - may be a telling sign of what's to come in the film, as projects that cross properties will face issues with character use, as "Robin" is attached to the Batman franchise, "Superboy" would likely be connected to the Superman franchise, "Wonder Girl" with the struggling Wonder Woman film project, and likely, "Kid Flash" with the Flash film, which is continually trying to find its feet. As such, various characters, while they may appear together in comics, may not be able to appear in the film version of their team, as different production companies hold the rights and control of the characters in film.

Except that Warner Brothers is the production company for all DC films (corporate synergy and all that). Totally different from the Marvel situation, where Fox has the rights to X-Men, Sony to Spider-Man, etc. It's also why Marvel Studios has been formed, so Marvel can start reaquiring the rights to their characters and make team-up movies like The Avengers.

In DCs case, it probably has more to do with a desire not to dilute their franchises. Batman's just getting back off the ground, and they haven't introduced Robin yet. So how will it look if he pops up in Teen Titans before debuting in a Batman film? The general populace is unaware of him as a character, so it's not that big of a deal. Same with Wonder Girl...if they want to start a Wonder Woman franchise, it's not a good idea to make a film starring her sidekick before WW even has her own movie.

The only character where rights is an issue is Superboy, and that's because of the Siegel's claim on the character.