@timthegem: I've posted this before, so apologies if folks have already seen it, but my ego says it bears repeating because a full-on musical makes little sense financially:
- TWD is canceling projects left and right, cutting the fat, and streamlining the studio. In the midst of all of this bloodshed, they greenlit a Joker sequel.
- The Joker is the highest-grossing R-Rated movie of all time having pulled in a billion dollars at the box office. In order to get greenlit the studio is expecting a billion-dollar return and then some.
- Only five modern "musicals" have grossed a billion dollars (back in the day musicals like the Sound of Music were more common and popular and could pop this number when adjusted for inflation, but that's 60-70 years ago and not a good comparison for a modern box office return), all five of those are Disney G/PG movies, three live adaptations and the two Frozen movies.
- Of the top twenty modern musicals, only 14 have grossed more than $500M worldwide and of that top twenty, 15 were kid's movies, and the other five were PG-13. Of those five PG-13 movies, only two crossed $500M, the first being Mamma Mia which featured an ABBA-heavy soundtrack, it cleared $600M, the other was the $900M grossing Bohemian Rhapsody, which featured Queen's music, and is a stretch to call it a musical.
So telling me the penny-pinchers at TWD are willing to gamble on a genre that has not resonated well with modern audiences unless it's kid-friendly fare or pop-friendly nostalgia instead of sticking with the formula that worked for the first movie feels like an insult to my intelligence.
I'm willing to give the benefit of doubt to Lady GaGa, she has shown to be a very good character actress and doesn't appear to be making movies as a means to increase her persona. She's also a talented musician, despite her dance-pop claim to fame, she can genuinely sing and loves playing the piano, so taking advantage of her for a musical number isn't far-fetched. They did set a precedence in the first movie when the Joker finally became the Joker, the scene of him on the stairs is almost iconic at this point, a manic music number can work. However, the whole movie as a musical? No chance in hell.
They aren't about to leave $600M+ on the table for what would be a vanity project on one of their tentpole properties, especially with the way TWD has been swinging their axe since taking over. Creative types can come up with all sorts of ideas, but that doesn't mean the people who foot the bill are about to give them a blank check to do whatever they fancy without a plan for ROI and so far TWD has been about as cutthroat as a studio can get, Black Adam box office numbers aren't going to make anyone happy.
@sippio: Took the words out of my mouth, I'm happy with my Steam and Epic collections, but I just don't get the same...I dunno, vibe I guess, that I do with my consoles. And screw mobile, I have 30" monitors and a 72" TV, wtf would I want to play on a 4" screen?! My Switch has never left the docking station (that's a lie, I take it out to put in new games/memory).
@epic_poke8: Hurt feelings? Is that what you think you think is going on? How does listening to someone try to blurt out every immature and insulting thing they can think of when they win/lose a sprite fight add any value to a game?
A sea change in how people perceive DC's movie offerings is the first thing that needs to happen. Trying to shoot for the moon is bound to fail, not because they can't make a great product, but because no one will give it a fair shake. Marvel fanboys will poison the well, no matter the quality, DC fanboys are always over the moon, even for mediocre, and professional critics are just theater nerds for sale (perhaps pay them more since a lot of folks still think they have something to offer). DC's movie motto should be, "Just don't suck," and go from there.
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