Credit: Marvel Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount, Illumination/Nintendo/UniversalWith how things are looking, perhaps “superhero fatigue” will really become a thing of the past.
Related: A DCU and MCU Crossover? James Gunn Says It’s Possible…
The death of the superhero
For nearly a decade, properties like The Walt Disney Company’s Marvel Studios and their Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) have ruled the roost when it comes to both the cultural zeitgeist and the box office. With Warner Bros.’ DC Extended Universe (DCEU) following closely behind with attempts at similar box office breakouts with Zack Snyder’s Justice League “Snyderverse”, at least one superhero offering can be expected at any local cinema, at any given time.
Now, comic book studios are looking to reshuffle a bit — to recapture audience attention after numerous reports of fatigue from what some would call a deluge of “same-y”, CGI-inflated superhero movies lacking heart. With DC Studios being formed by Warner Bros. Discovery (post-merger) under new CEO David Zaslav, the introduction of poached Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy writer and director James Gunn alongside Peter Safran — in an epic plan to reboot and retool the entire DC Universe from the ground up.
Marvel Studios are also looking to create the next big cinematic experience after Avengers: Endgame (2019) said goodbye to Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark/Iron Man and Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers/Captain America. They’re introducing a whole new Big Bad following Josh Brolin’s Thanos defeat — with Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror in the new block of Phases called the Multiverse Saga. The arc was meant to end with the craziest plan ever by Feige, but with the Kang actor’s recent arrest following allegations of assault still needing to go to court, and somewhat lacking box office takings with recent MCU theatrical releases, it seems now more certain than ever that the film industry’s shining star that was once the superhero genre is now on the wane.
The surprising success of video game movies & TV
Related: ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Likely to Gross Over $1 Billion, Set to Reshape Movie Industry
Over the last year or so, a surprising number of movies and television series based on video game properties have surfaced — and run the gamut style-wise — from AppleTV’s Tetris (2023) starring Taron Egerton, inspired by the first video game ever made, to much-lauded zombie drama The Last of Us (2023) starring Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and young star Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) inspired by developer Naughty Dog’s triple-A, hyper-realistic, cinematic 2013 PlayStation game of the same name. But now, a certain Nintendo property is set to change the landscape of movies in the near future,
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) opened this Spring to simply tremendous success. The box office reports for this movie are astonishing, close to rivalling Disney — and somewhat unprecedented. Currently, the movie is still going strong in theaters and looking to gross a humble billion dollars.
All of this is happening just as Chris Pine-starring Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) rakes in rave reviews and a similarly surprising box office. Need any more convincing?
Why video game movie adaptations are going to be big
It’s not just Tetris and The Last of Us that did well. Even in 2019 the seeds were planted with the other popular Nintendo intellectual property, Pokemon, whose Ryan Reynolds-leading Detective Pikachu surpassed expectations. Mark Wahlberg (Sully/Victor Sullivan) and Tom Holland-led (Nate Drake/Nathan Drake) Uncharted (2022) also came out just last year also to decent box office and critical success — inspired by the eponymous action-adventure video game series by Naughty Dog. With ex-Superman Henry Cavill moving on from DC and Netflix’s The Witcher (2019) — yet another successful video game adaptation — the star is setting his sights on bringing his favorite gaming franchise ever, Warhammer, to the screen. BioShock is another franchise getting a live-action adaptation over at Netflix, as is Lionsgate’s Borderlands adaptation, already announced to feature a star-studded cast including Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jack Black.
In fact, the incoming new industry craze is nearly inevitable, as video game sales journalist Benji-Sales shares. Both the biggest movie and TV series of 2023 so far have both been based on video games, and Benji believes that Hollywood execs are going to go nuts for adaptation rights to the hottest gaming titles:
The biggest Movie and Biggest New Series of 2023 so far are both based on video games
• Movie – Super Mario Bros
• New Series – The Last of UsHollywood executives are about to be in an all-out mad arms race for video game adaptation rights
The biggest Movie and Biggest New Series of 2023 so far are both based on video games
• Movie – Super Mario Bros
• New Series – The Last of UsHollywood executives are about to be in an all-out mad arms race for video game adaptation rights pic.twitter.com/jMqvncOeEw
— Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) April 8, 2023
It’s now just a matter of time before Hollywood starts snapping up film rights, and the new Fallout movie is announced. Superhero film studios will really have to step up their game to retain nerd (and public) interest.
What do you think about the death of superhero movies, and the rise of video game ones? Share your thoughts in the comments below!