A while back, director Barry Sonnenfeld revealed that he was working on a comic book film, though he wouldn’t specify which one. Today, Vulture has let the secret slip as they report that Sonnenfeld will be bringing The Metal Men to the big screen for Warner Bros.
Before you start scratching your heads and try to dig into your memory in hopes of remembering who The Metal Men are, let us provide you with a brief summary of their tales and exploits.
Created by scientist Dr. William “Will” Magnus, the six robots were field leader Gold, strong man Iron, slow-witted and loyal Lead, hot-headed Mercury, self-doubting and insecure Tin, and Platinum (also called “Tina”), who believed she was a real woman and was in love with her creator. The group’s personalities mirrored their namesake metals, being dictated by devices called “responsometers”.
Each Metal Man also possessed abilities that reflected the traits of their namesake metal: Gold could stretch his form almost infinitely, Iron was super strong, Lead could block harmful radiation by morphing into thick shields, Mercury could melt and pass through small spaces before reforming and Platinum could stretch or flatten.
Personally, I’m not too familiar with The Metal Men, and I don’t think anyone else really is either. They don’t exactly have the popularity of say Superman or Batman and I can’t see this film ever getting made. It seems odd that DC would choose The Metal Men over some of their other properties, especially when they have them all under one roof, unlike Marvel.
I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Sonnenfeld take on a comic book adaptation but why this one? There’s a number of better options for him to tackle.
What do you think? Will The Metal Men ever escape the development phase.
