Written by Ben Casey. Media by Bekah Dothager.
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Undoubtedly, we are in the golden age of comic book movies. Goliaths Marvel and DC are pumping out film after film with no foreseeable plans of slowing down. We’re in an era where talking raccoons and trees are not only accepted by mainstream audiences but adored. At this point, everything is fair game. So what are some comics that are getting left behind? What has been overlooked, stuck in development, or saved for later? Here’s a list of the movies I want to see announced in the future!
Batman Beyond
We’ve seen a lot of the Caped Crusader lately, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to see a dystopian futuristic one with jet boots fighting mutant lizard gangs with retro-future music playing in the background. Batman Beyond was actually a tv show before it was a comic. It began airing on Cartoon Network in January of 1999 and became a huge hit, running for three seasons and getting a comic book adaption that continues to be released today. There were talks of a live-action film in 2001, but the script was put on hold to work on Batman Begins.
Runaways
What would you do if you discovered your parents were supervillains? Runaways is a Marvel comic that depicts just that as a group of teenagers discover their parents are a part of the sinister organization The Pride. The kids – well, they run away and discover their own dormant powers which they use to stop their parents’ plans for the city of Los Angeles. The team has no secret identities, features more female characters than male, and has a pet dinosaur. I have no idea why this isn’t already a movie or at least a tv series! Come on Marvel! Step it up! We were actually very close to getting a Runaways film adaption in 2010, but Marvel halted production to work on some stupid little movie called Avengers. There’s still a script floating out there somewhere, and I think it’s about time we see it come to life!
Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan)
Marvel apparently has decided to make Spiderman a high schooler. Despite the oddity of watching a superhero younger than me, it really is a good move to Marvel to appeal to a younger audience with the character. So why not adapt a character that is currently young in comics? Plus, they get another amazing female lead who just happens to be Muslim. That’s a big audience for Marvel to pull in. Ms. Marvel is a Muslim living in Jersey City in the when she discovers she has shapeshifting powers. She dawns the mantle of Ms. Marvel in honor of the former Ms. Marvel Carol Danvers who now goes by Captain Marvel. The character has received critical and commercial success, making a movie adaption of her a great option for Marvel.
Sandman
Sandman follows the story of Morpheus, also known just as Dream. He is one of the seven Endless, immortal beings who are anthropomorphic personifications of various ideas suggested by their names, Sandman himself representing dreams. The comics ultimately follow a story of redemption as Sandman is captured and held prisoner by a cult leader for 70 years, his originally cruel and haughty demeanor soon fades. Finally freeing himself, Sandman sets about righting the wrongs of his past billion years of living as he tries to help rebuild his kingdom of The Dreaming. This is an absolutely beautiful series that would without a doubt make an amazing film if it were to be put into the right hands. We might even be on our way to getting that adaptation as New Line Cinema is in talks to put it together, with a script currently being under revision. This time next year, we might be getting ready for the release of our first Sandman feature film!
Y: The Last Man
Guys, has a girl ever told you, “not if you were the last man on earth!”? Well, meet Yorick, the last man on earth and protagonist of the comic book Y: The Last Man. After an unknown agent causes any mammal carrying a Y chromosome to die instantly, Yorick, and his pet monkey Ampersand, become the only surviving males. As society spirals out of control and the remaining women rush to find a way to stop the extinction of the human species, Yorick and Ampersand are accompanied by a mysterious government agent named 355 to meet with a geneticist and cloning expert. Meanwhile, countless organizations seek Yorick for their own ends. We were so close to getting a film adaption of this. A script was written, actors had been hired, sets were being built. But then the rights reverted back to the writers of the comic book, ending the film before it started. Don’t lose hope, though! There have been talks that FX might be developing a TV series based around the comic! That is definitely something that a lot of fans of this amazing book would love to see!
