How long will super-hero movies be hot?

[Trey Strain]

As we all know, DC has been taking a beating from Marvel at the movies. But maybe super-hero movies won't be a big deal for much longer.

How long do you think they'll be hot?

[Marvelman]

I think there is a glut of superhero movies right now and that at some point movie-goers will tire of them. However, I think there will always be a demand for a great superhero movie just as there will always be a demand for a great western.

[The Dying Detective]

I think there is a glut of superhero movies right now and that at some point movie-goers will tire of them. However, I think there will always be a demand for a great superhero movie just as there will always be a demand for a great western.

Sure but once the demand shrinks the studios might have to cut their losses somehow.

[Jekyll]

For as long as you keep making threads.

[Trey Strain]

For as long as you keep making threads.

Yes, I want comics printed on newsprint and the prices dropped to $1.99. And I don't want B-list modern characters grafted onto the Golden Age JSA, since they've got even less business there than they do as members of the Justice League.

Meanwhile, super-hero movies don't have to completely disappear in order for a decline in them to deal a huge blow not only to Marvel and DC, but to the overall box office as well. This will have a devastating effect when it happens. It's just a matter of when and by how much.

[The Dying Detective]

Yes, I want comics printed on newsprint and the prices dropped to $1.99. And I don't want B-list modern characters grafted onto the Golden Age JSA.

So you've made thread regarding superhero adaptations before to try to drum interest up in comics? Print will still remain relevant but it's not as strongly used these days.

[LordMikel]

As we all know, DC has been taking a beating from Marvel at the movies. But maybe super-hero movies won't be a big deal for much longer.

How long do you think they'll be hot?

I think the decline will come when they recast Captain America or Iron Man. Will they go the James Bond route and simply recast him and this is him now or will they go the Spider-man route and redo everything. And in spider-man's case, we didn't like the redo, so we redid it again. Regardless of the path they choose, if it isn't done well, the decline will begin here.

[Trey Strain]

I think the decline will come when they recast Captain America or Iron Man. Will they go the James Bond route and simply recast him and this is him now or will they go the Spider-man route and redo everything. And in spider-man's case, we didn't like the redo, so we redid it again. Regardless of the path they choose, if it isn't done well, the decline will begin here.

I don't see how they can replace those guys, especially Downey.

Something I just thought of -- the Star Wars movies may have already passed their peak.

[FluffySheep]

Something I just thought of -- the Star Wars movies may have already passed their peak.

Funny you should say that because that was the first thing I thought when I saw this thread. I feel like Star Wars will lose people's interest before superhero movies do.

[Trey Strain]

Funny you should say that because that was the first thing I thought when I saw this thread. I feel like Star Wars will lose people's interest before superhero movies do.

And Disney has been strangely quiet about the Han Solo movie, which suggests the company may have no confidence in it.

[Carabas]

I don't see how they can replace those guys, especially Downey.

Something I just thought of -- the Star Wars movies may have already passed their peak.

The Star Wars movies peaked in 1980.

Yes, and Wonder Woman too. They should make money for a while. The thing is, DC and Marvel don't seem to have another breakout female or black character.

They may have dozens.
The Black Panther wasn't a breakout character until it broke out after Marvel decided to treat it as seriously as any of their other movies.
The Black Panther was not a breakout character before the movie came out. He was one of those cancelled over and over again characters you usually call failures.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I'm guessing when Archie/Valiant/Dark horse etc starting throwing their hat in the ring is when the bubble might burst.

The superhero genre would last longer than most genres because its more malleable and can adapt easier to different storytelling trends.

[Sutekh]

They may have dozens.
The Black Panther wasn't a breakout character until it broke out after Marvel decided to treat it as seriously as any of their other movies.
The Black Panther was not a breakout character before the movie came out. He was one of those cancelled over and over again characters you usually call failures.

Yeah. Marvel (and DC) have tons of characters, and have proven time and again that they can make tons of money on lesser-known comic characters like Star-Lord, Ant-Man, etc. They've got entire teams that haven't been touched, like the Champions, Nextwave, Agents of Atlas, Initiative, Power Pack, the Ultimates, etc.

Wonder Woman may indeed be DC's most iconic female character, but Black Panther was only one of several mid to high profile black characters in their roster, with Luke Cage, Storm, Misty Knight and / or Monica Rambeau all having potential to break out. DC's got a deep bench of characters as well, and is just as capable, in theory, of creating awesome movies based on characters other than the 'big seven' of the Justice League, with diverse options like Vixen and Katana, and plenty of straight white dudes like Booster Gold and Captain Atom.

I don't think that there's a built-in end when superhero movies will suddenly no longer be possible, as long as they are good, and DC, IMO, has barely even started yet. And Marvel gains access to the X-Men properties, that's just a whole new world of adventure they can put on the big screen.

There's no reason why this 'bubble' has to burst. It might, but I've liked comics for almost 50 years, and haven't suddenly hit comics fatigue and stopped buying them, so I'm not the person whose going to suddenly stop watching movies about them.

It's like saying that the bacon bubble is going to burst and I'm suddenly going to stop eating bacon. Not likely.

[Lee]

I think they'd be a lot hotter if movie tickets were $2 and printed on newsprint.

[FluffySheep]

I think the decline will come when they recast Captain America or Iron Man. Will they go the James Bond route and simply recast him and this is him now or will they go the Spider-man route and redo everything. And in spider-man's case, we didn't like the redo, so we redid it again. Regardless of the path they choose, if it isn't done well, the decline will begin here.

It could be said that the Marvel universe could struggle to keep people's interest once Cap, Iron Man, Thor (the "original" characters) leave, in the same way that Star Wars will most likely struggle to keep people's interest once Luke, Leia, Han, Vader, Yoda (the "original" characters) don't feature in the movies.