Warner Finally Unveils its DC Superhero Movie Slate

October 15, 2014June 23, 2023 Keith Chow

Looks like Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment have responded to the gauntlet thrown down by the folks at Disney and Marvel Studios. After the nerd community was rocked by the news that Robert Downey Jr. was joining the Captain America threequel, DC hit back with its entire slate of DC-based superhero films for the next five years.

In a special presentation to shareholders, Warner Brothers head Kevin Tsujihara revealed which DC heroes would be getting movies through 2020. Remember, there have been rumblings all year that this ambitious slate of superhero films would be coming out eventually. Now that we know which films will be coming out and when, all I can say is… meh.

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DC Comics, Movies4 Comments

Forget Aquaman, Jason Momoa Must be Shazam!

September 15, 2014December 16, 2014 Keith Chow

In the history of comic book superhero movies, having a casting announcement be met with near-universal praise by the fickle fanboy community is a very rare occurrence. In fact, I’m not sure it’s ever happened. From Keaton to Affleck, ScarJo to Gal Gadot, the nerd reflex is to cry foul — or at least raise a suspicious eyebrow — at Hollywood’s disrespect of comic book continuity. (And don’t even think about casting non-white actors in any of these roles). Nine times out of ten, though, fanboy condemnation — at casting, say, a “vapid pretty boy” like Chris Evans as Captain America or a “gay cowboy” like Heath Ledger as the Joker — gives way to reluctant acceptance and eventually hyperbole over how perfect these actors are in their respective roles.

A few weeks ago, though, when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson finally revealed he will be playing Black Adam in a Shazam! movie, the internet reaction was entirely positive. It probably helped that this rumored casting had been gestating for nearly a decade. But while fans were celebrating The Rock as Black Adam, I had one question: who could possibly be (physically) big enough to play Shazam¹?

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DC Comics, Movies5 Comments

Mystery Solved: The Rock Will Be Black Adam

September 3, 2014March 25, 2019 Keith Chow

For a few months now, everyone’s favorite wrestler-turned-action-movie-franchise-savior Dwayne Johnson has been hinting at his involvement in the nascent DC Cinematic Universe. A few weeks ago, he all but confirmed that movie would be Shazam though he wouldn’t confirm which part he’d play. William Evans of Black Nerd Problems speculated on what it might mean if The Rock actually played the lead hero (née Captain Marvel) in that upcoming DC movie.

Well, The Rock took to twitter this morning to reveal his role, once and for all.

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DC Comics, Guest Post, Movies4 Comments

What if Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Chooses Shazam?

August 22, 2014April 12, 2019 Guest N.O.C.

by William Evans | Originally posted at Black Nerd Problems

Yes, my people, it is I, he who typically slams everything the DCU does with its movie franchises. But look, if this all but confirmed news that Dwayne Johnson will portray Shazam comes to fruition: I like this one. I really, really like this one. If we’re being 100% honest, I think the actor formerly known as the wrestler known as The Rock would be a great Black Adam. Besides the comically-not-really-him-CGI depiction in The Mummy Returns, have we really had Johnson play a villain?

If the news is to be believed, Johnson hasn’t decided which character he’ll portray, but the smart money is on Shazam, and I can’t blame him. As far as franchising, being a good guy on the Justice League is going to afford you many more opportunities in the franchise than a villain who might appear in one flick. But I digress. For the first time since Zack Snyder started signing off on costume designs, I actually like a casting choice for this Justice League universe without having to have seventeen think-pieces to convince me of it. Johnson has proven he can be heroic, goofy, lighthearted, and certainly looks the part of being a “superman-ish” hero.

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Guest Post, Movies40 Comments

Everything Wrong with Christian Bale as Moses

August 4, 2014April 12, 2019 Guest N.O.C.

by Dion Beary

I’m throwing a temper tantrum over this one. Christian Bale cannot play Moses. No. I know arguing against the whitewashing of a Biblical character is a lost cause, and wandering into any mainstream Christian church decked out with portraits of a blue-eyed Jesus Christ should indicate that the tide isn’t changing anytime soon, but I still find myself just a little more perturbed than average to see Batman play the savior of the Hebrews.

Maybe it’s because in recent years we’ve seen a new wave of white outrage against racebending traditionally white characters. Racebending refers to altering the canonical race of a character. Whitewashing is a type of racebending wherein non-white characters become white or are not included whatsoever. For simplicity’s sake, this piece will use the term whitewashing to refer to that absence of colored folks, while racebending will be used to refer to white characters becoming non-white. Those aren’t exact definitions, but hey, if Christian Bale can play Moses, then I can bend a couple of rules too.

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Misc1 Comment

Waking Up From a Long Winter’s Nap

January 6, 2014September 3, 2014 Keith Chow

Since The Nerds of Color is not the only awesome thing on the internet, we spent the holiday break scouring the web for some of the most NOC-relevant links around. Here are six things that have gotten the most buzz around the N.O.C. offices.

The folks over at Comics Alliance have posted some New Year’s resolutions for the comic book industry that we can all get behind.

Among their 10 Diversity Resolutions for Superhero Comics in 2014, this one is probably the most important. Heck, they even say so themselves!

These resolutions aren’t ordered by importance, but if superhero publishers only make one pledge in 2014, this one matters most; we need more minority creators in the industry. More editors, more pencillers, inkers, colorists and cover artists, and, perhaps most importantly, more writers. If the people making comics are as diverse as their potential audience, the comics they make are more likely to reflect and appeal to that audience.

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