..and I’m laughing about it so much. It started with Warner Bros, remaking Superman so much in Nolan’s image that they got him to be executive producer of that trainwreck of a film. Then they decided to add a sequel: the whole Batman vs. Superman thing, effectively rebooting Batman just a scant few years after Nolan’s fantastic trilogy ended. You’ve seen the uproar; you’ve laughed over Ben Affleck, you don’t need me to explain this to you.
But why are studios doing this? Maybe because the film industry is a tremulous place nowadays. If you can secure a franchise, preferably one based on a decently long book series or comic series, then you’re set to make hundreds of millions of dollars if you do it right. It’s been a scary world since Harry Potter ended. Billions of dollars to Warner Bros, there– but now it’s over. What happened next? Marvel slam-dunked The Avengers in everyone’s faces; Lionsgate got crowned with gold for capturing The Hunger Games. Columbia rebooted Spiderman, so they’ve got that franchise to milk for the next few years. You know. New team, new cast, new news for them. Kudos.
The re-emergence of the hero started with Robert Downey Jr’s redemption with Iron Man in 2008. Since then, “gritty and emotional” hero arcs have become increasingly popular. Iron Man and Batman both went through similar transformations. And with the success of these franchises, others are trying to copy it. I thought it was just funny until now. “Hey look, Christophe Nolan has a good thing going there with the darkening and quickening of old heroes, let’s try and copy him and then pretend he’s just inspiring us! Great!”
And then I read Screenrant’s article about Zorro. Apparently, Sony executives “want a bigger piece of the box office pie,” and have hired a new writer to reboot Zorro in the gritty, emotional style of The Dark Knight.
Zorro? The Mask of Zorro? Are you telling me that film isn’t emotional and gritty? Screenrant’s Ben Moore makes good points here:
It should be pointed out that the last good iteration of Zorro – as in, The Mask of – also had an emotional core. (16-YEAR-OLD SPOILER ALERT.) Anthony Hopkins, the original Zorro, watched as his wife was killed and his baby daughter was taken from him, and he was subsequently thrown in prison for two decades a la The Count of Monte Cristo. Likewise, his successor, Antonio Banderas, was on a mission of revenge to find the man who murdered his brother. Which is all to say, it was not a completely fluffy affair.
I don’t know. I personally think The Mask of Zorro was an excellent film that should not be messed with, but in the age of reboots and remakes it may just happen. The Amazing Spiderman turned out to be better than all the last three put together, so maybe we’ll be surprised, but for now, I will approach anyone attempting to be Christopher Nolan with a raised eyebrow and slow clap of sympathy.
They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but sometimes…not so much.
Are You Watching Closely? 