Comic Book Movies We Would Actually Like to See

[Editor’s Note: This piece was written before Marvel announced their plans for Phase Three of their Cinematic Universe]

With the upcoming slate of DC/WB superhero movies recently announced through the next twenty-five years, we started to talk amongst ourselves about how none of it really interests us all that much. I mean, we can only see the same couple of formulas play out on the big screen so many times before we start itching for something better.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy repeatedly watching the same climactic sequence involving a giant alien warship hovering over a city-in-peril, but that’s not to say it wouldn’t be nice to have a bit more variety.

So Doominator and I decided to cook up a list each of comics movies we’d actually be pumped to see come soon to a theatre near us.

Feel free to comment with your own ideas of stuff you’d like to see, but, in the meantime, here’s what we’ve got:

Doominator

Dredd 2

I stand by Dredd as one of the best comic book adaptations I’ve seen in recent years, and humanity’s greatest achievement since Predators. (Note: Predators, The Social Network and Grown-Ups were the only films I saw in theaters in 2010. Doom DeLuise and I saw that last one together and … woof. We went in knowing it was going to be bad, but it got worse).

At any rate, a Dredd sequel would (hopefully) lay the groundwork for a trilogy, and become the Godfather 2 or Empire Strikes Back of totalitarian dystopia movies. Also Dredd 3D 3 is a great movie title, and we need a Dredd 3D 2 to get there.

Captain Marvel

[Editor’s Note: Again, these lists were written prior to Marvel’s Phase Three announcement]

Kelly Sue DeConnick’s run on Captain Marvel has turned Carol Danvers from a peripheral Marvel character, X-Men pal and sometimes Avenger into a force to be reckoned with. It would be only fitting that, in the vein of Guardians of the Galaxy, we have her near-cinematic space bound adventures blasted up to the big screen. Throw in Kathleen Turner as Helen Cobb, and make sure to feature Monica Rambeau, and you could have the makings of a fantastic — and radically different — Marvel movie.

She-Hulk

If you’re not reading the current run on She-Hulk by Charles Soule, you’re making a huge mistake. The book isn’t about She-Hulk, the former Fantastic Four fourth, Avenger, Defender or Hero for Hire. It’s about Jennifer Walters, the attorney who happens to be seven feet tall and gamma radiation infused.

And it’s a hoot!

Soule, a licensed attorney, considers a side of the Marvel Universe little thought about: the actual legal ramifications of a world filled with superpowered heroes and villains and cosmic threats. You could spin this into a fairly unique movie, balancing the professional life of Jennifer Walters as she starts her own superpowered-being centric law firm along with the Jennifer Walters who can shatter steel rebar.

(This would also make an excellent TV series).

Sex Criminals

In Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky’s Sex Criminals, two people meet at a party, have a wild fling … and discover that they both have the power to stop time when they climax. So they decide to play Robin Hood. Thus starts one of the more unusual comic books out there, one rife for adaptation into a distinctly R-rated movie. The MPAA would hate it — and Hollywood would likely screw it up — but in the right hands, you could deliver a fun exploration of human sexuality and discovering yourself, all while successfully calling a state of being “Cum World” over and over.

Doom DeLuise

Batman Beyond

I know, the idea of using any superhero characters from DC’s stable that won’t directly tie into all of the other characters in the shared universe they’re plotting out is blasphemous, but think about how cool this could be. If they could somehow bring Michael Keaton or even Adam West in to play the aged Bruce Wayne, it’d be even better. But it’d give fans a Batman fix without having to deal with whatever nonsense the rest of their universe is building toward.

Nova

This seems like a no-brainer after the success of Guardians of the Galaxy. They could capture the same type of fun-loving vibe easily, as the same team that wrote Guardians concurrently wrote a lengthy run of Nova comics that could serve as a blueprint for this movie’s script. They can use some of the same elements of the Nova Corps introduced in this past summer’s biggest blockbuster, but I’d love to see Richard Rider, the Human Rocket – – replete with bucket helmet – – flying around on the big screen.

Heck, for something different, they could even use the current Nova, Sam Alexander, so we’d get our first big superhero movie with a kid in the lead.

Arrow

When WB announced their upcoming movie plans earlier this week (planned out through 2020, no less), I was saddened to see that the CW’s Arrow is being completely overlooked. It deserves some recognition. But, honestly, I’d rather it not tie into all of the other crap, because the show has its own thing going on, and I’m nearly positive it’s better than whatever Zack Snyder could possibly cook up. If they simply gave the guys working on the series a much larger budget and free rein, this could be an amazing movie.

Namor: The Sub-Mariner

I don’t care at all about Namor. I think he’s a stupid character, and I’m pretty sure Marvel Studios don’t even own the rights to the property. Last I checked, there was a bunch of complex legal red-tape keeping them from making a movie, but, yet, I would love to see this movie released exactly one week before the Aquaman film, if only because Namor appeared in comics a couple years before Aquaman, and I think the American people should know that. Also, I just like to watch the world burn.

Dredd 2

I’d rather have a television series with the budget of the first movie set aside for each episode, but, failing that, I’d at least like to see a sequel. Doominator nailed it on this one.