'Superman & Lois' in development at the CW

[Alpha]

You are absolutely right.

[Nelliebly]

Honestly, I find it a bit odd we're 1 month away from the premiere and we don't have a trailer yet, besides that teaser. Even Batwoman has one. I wonder why. Maybe special effects need more polishing? I'd assume that would be done for episode 1.

Batwoman premiered tonight and, thus, received the bulk of the CW’s advertising leading up to it. I expect that will change as they shift gears to launch their other returning shows and Superman and Lois.

As much as I have concerns about the show, I do think we need to give them a pass on this one.

Elizabeth Tulloch shared on IG that they literally weren’t even done shooting the pilot until mid December. I don’t think there is any reason why we have no footage other than they had no footage to really share and that’s absolutely because of Covid.

Keep in mind that this show was about to film last March before everything shut down and like 2 months had been allocated for the pilot. Having them come back in October on a NEW series, during a global pandemic and premiere in Feb. is not a lot of time, guys and that’s not their fault.

Tyler and Bitsie hosted a very good panel for the Boys and Girls’ Club a month ago and they both spoke honestly about how hard it had been to start the series right now with Covid raging. I’ll critique the show for sure if I don’t like it (and I’ve shared plenty of concerns) but I don’t want to lose sight of the reality that these are far from ideal conditions on everyone: actors, crew, special effects etc and they are doing the best they can in these circumstances.

[Nelliebly]

You are absolutely right.

There’s a first time for everything. .

[Robanker]

I think it will find an audience but I have thought it was a poor fit for the CW from the start.

Elizabeth Tulloch likened the show awhile back to a superhero version of Friday Night Lights. I mean....look. My ideal Superman show is set in Metropolis and not Smallville (and I say that as someone who loved SV but was ready to move on) but if you want to try this premise, FNL is not a bad thing to mirror in the sense that it was a show about real family stuff, a strong marriage with football at the center. It’s not a bad blueprint to try for Superman but I don’t love the CW as the network for it.

Generally, I think one of their biggest mistakes so far has been not leaning into the marriage as the focal point. There is 100% a market for a show with a marriage as the central relationship with some kind of supernatural element at play (see the success of Outlander.). Lois and Clark fit similarly into the kind of roles Outlander has found great success with and obviously they predate those books. Lois being a few years older than Clark always sets the relationship slightly outside the bounds of a traditional heterosexual pairing in a refreshing way. Lois is not some 25 year old ingenue. It’s way more rare than it should be to ever see male/female pairings with a woman who is allowed to be a few years older. Way, way too rare. So lean into it. I don’t want a watered down romance. I want the real thing. Lois and Clark was a flawed and at times silly show but it knew what it was selling.

I’m not making sense but the problem is....the CW is not really the network for this. If the goal is Friday Night Lights with Superman....that’s way too deep for what the CW has become. This is potentially a controversial statement but I think Smallville had deeper character work than any of the Arrowverse shows. If the goal was to market this show as a series about a married couple and market it to people who specifically want to watch that, the CW is also not the ideal place. I’m not saying it had to be on like Starz like Outlander and be R rated bc obviously that wasn’t going to happen. But either commit to what you set out to do or don’t do it. I don’t want a muddled Superman and Lois Lane story. I want the real thing. Who is the audience? Teens? Adults? Romance fans? General superhero fans? By trying to appeal to everyone, you lose the kind of true focus you can achieve with a more clear view of what you are selling.

I want the show to be successful. But, generally, I think their biggest problem is that they called the show “Superman and LOIS” but are too chicken to fully commit to what that means. If it’s a romance, make it a romance. If it’s a family drama, commit. These are all valid ideas that can work. My fear is, because it’s the CW, it’s going to be show that’s too afraid to really be a family drama, unable to really commit to being about a marriage. And it will be fine. It will likely have some very good moments. But it could have been better with a different showrunner on a different network and I’ll always lament what could have been.

Couldn't have said it better if I tried. Well-stated.

[Nelliebly]

I said some negative stuff so I’ll say something positive that isn’t said enough:

Disney, for better or worse, is marketing Wandavision extremely effectively right now but no amount of marketing or clever premise changes that it’s yet another show where the man is like 20 years older than the actress playing his wife. That’s tired, guys. I’m over it. And I know I’m not the only woman who’s completely over it.

I will critique when I see fit but I will always celebrate Superman being one of the only love stories/marriages that, refreshingly, doesn’t do that. And I will absolutely celebrate getting to see an actress who is a few years older than the guy for once. Just as I celebrated Amy Adams. And Margot Kidder etc. It shouldn’t even be a thing and it shouldn’t be refreshing but it is.

[manwhohaseverything]

I think them needing to commit to romance or teen drama is crucial.Make something of quality then on.They shouldn't aim to cater to superhero audiences or for that matter action audience.Because those audiences demand different things.
Also, vision is like 5 years old.

[Alpha]

I said some negative stuff so I’ll say something positive that isn’t said enough:

Disney, for better or worse, is marketing Wandavision extremely effectively right now but no amount of marketing or clever premise changes that it’s yet another show where the man is like 20 years older than the actress playing his wife. That’s tired, guys. I’m over it. And I know I’m not the only woman who’s completely over it.

I will critique when I see fit but I will always celebrate Superman being one of the only love stories/marriages that, refreshingly, doesn’t do that. And I will absolutely celebrate getting to see an actress who is a few years older than the guy for once. Just as I celebrated Amy Adams. And Margot Kidder etc. It shouldn’t even be a thing and it shouldn’t be refreshing but it is.

Yeah that's absolutely true, it's just that I love their chemistry so much that I have to excuse it, even though I shouldn't.

[Nelliebly]

I think them needing to commit to romance or teen drama is crucial.Make something of quality then on.They shouldn't aim to cater to superhero audiences or for that matter action audience.Because those audiences demand different things.
Also, vision is like 5 years old.

The actor playing him is 50. You can try and explain it away all you want but it’s a tired cliche.

[Nelliebly]

Yeah that's absolutely true, it's just that I love their chemistry so much that I have to excuse it, even though I shouldn't.

That’s funny bc I don’t care for them at all. The show is a huge bore to me. But to each their own! It’s fine to like them. I don’t think you need to feel bad. It’s just, generally, in aggregate, a really tired problem.

[manwhohaseverything]

The actor playing him is 50. You can try and explain it away all you want but it’s a tired cliche.

Why should i care about the actors age?i mean, i care about vision and wanda not the actors. Heck! Rarely, do i know the names or remember it(yeah! Yeah! I am an idiot) . Even If a younger actor was recast as vision. The age of the character wouldn't change. All that matters is him being able to do his job.

[Robanker]

Why should i care about the actors age?i mean, i care about vision and wanda not the actors. Heck! Rarely, do i know the names or remember it(yeah! Yeah! I am an idiot) . Even If a younger actor was recast as vision. The age of the character wouldn't change. All that matters is him being able to do his job.

The reason a woman cares is that women aren't allowed to play younger people's spouse on television. Not usually. Paul Bettany gets to play a younger woman's husband despite being around 20 years her senior. Women don't get that luxury. It's sexism in Hollywood. Yes, the character doesn't change but that doesn't change that the same job isn't afforded to women the way it is to men and calling that double standard out is important. I genuinely think the last time I saw a significantly older woman with a younger man was in Don Jon.

For someone who whines that Superman doesn't tackle enough injustices anymore, you sure seem okay sweeping sexism under the rug, dude.

Yeah that's absolutely true, it's just that I love their chemistry so much that I have to excuse it, even though I shouldn't.

They're actors. I'm not going to begrudge Bettany for taking a job. It's perfectly fine to like them and the show, but it's also fair to acknowledge that there is a double standard in Hollywood and that it needs to be addressed.

[Alpha]

For someone who whines that Superman doesn't tackle enough injustices anymore, you sure seem okay sweeping sexism under the rug, dude.

Damn! I gotta get some lotion for him, because you just turned him into a burn victim

[manwhohaseverything]

The reason a woman cares is that women aren't allowed to play younger people's spouse on television. Not usually. Paul Bettany gets to play a younger woman's husband despite being around 20 years her senior. Women don't get that luxury. It's sexism in Hollywood. Yes, the character doesn't change but that doesn't change that the same job isn't afforded to women the way it is to men and calling that double standard out is important. I genuinely think the last time I saw a significantly older woman with a younger man was in Don Jon.

For someone who whines that Superman doesn't tackle enough injustices anymore, you sure seem okay sweeping sexism under the rug, dude.



They're actors. I'm not going to begrudge Bettany for taking a job. It's perfectly fine to like them and the show, but it's also fair to acknowledge that there is a double standard in Hollywood and that it needs to be addressed.

Pardon my ignorance,i was talking from a character and story persepective,not from casting persepective .since @Nelliebly said wandavision and didn't mention the cast names(btw!i was wondering what the dude's was).Hey! if i don't care,i don't care.i can't force myself to care.I am not gonna pretend i care so that i can play the better man.i am not.i will never be.Not that i don't care.I do want equal oppurtunities to be awarded to talent of caliber.however,Hollywood or any of these movie industries aren't on my radar 90 percent of the time.I am obtuse like that.My relation with these is limited to "watched a movie.it was cool".the end.

Damn! I gotta get some lotion for him, because you just turned him into a burn victim

If you think that was a burn.you need to get out more.

[Alpha]

Is there something wrong with me hyping things up? And I think he made a really valid point in a direct way.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

While the age disparity between actors and the often much younger actresses cast to play opposite them is definitely a problem, I can't say I'm upset at the whole WandaVision situation as that was born out of Betany already being the voice of Jarvis, not another way to stick a much older man with a woman in her 20s.

Furthermore, the age disparity works perfectly with the whole old sitcom shtick they've got going on because this is precisely the kind of casting that would have happened back then...and still happens now.

It's strange that the Amy Adams casting never really ruffled any feathers beyond her being a redhead. Snyder's other choice was Zoe Saldana, which would have no doubt caused a much larger backlash.

Remember folks, as much as some of America hates women, they hate black people waaaay more