Steven Spielberg had always been vocal when it came to expressing his desire to helm a musical, with the critical acclaim that greeted West Side Story both vindicating his decision to do so, and proving that the legendary filmmaker is capable of delivering greatness in almost every genre.
However, one form of cinema that the bearded icon hasn’t tackled as of yet is the blockbuster comic book adaptation, but it’s not exactly from a lack of trying. Spielberg was first announced to be developing DC’s Blackhawk for the big screen so long ago that Dan Aykroyd was attached to play the lead role, before the project was shelved in favor of a little movie called Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Fast forward almost 40 years, and Blackhawk was placed back into development by Warner Bros., with Spielberg tasking his Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull writer David Koepp to pen the screenplay.
We’ve heard barely a peep out of it since, though, but Koepp did at least hint in an interview with Collider that it remains a priority for both he and Spielberg, even if the latter isn’t 100% guaranteed to direct himself.
“We have a script that’s very good and we all think it’s very good. There were a lot of management changes at Warner Bros, so I think we’ve just been kind of waiting for that to settle down.and for them to decide what they want to do with their DC Universe. Obviously I hope he does it or if he doesn’t direct it, I hope he produces it, someone great directs. Because it would be a great deal of fun. I’m very fond of the script and I hope it comes together. But again, that’s one of those movies that’s gonna need $200 million so, trying to get those whales off the beach is a big process.”
Warner Bros. is in a state of transition with the finalization of the Discovery merger looming, but if the new hierarchy need something that’s as close to a guaranteed box office smash hit as possible, then a Steven Spielberg comic book movie would certainly do the trick.
