You have to wonder if James Gunn was aware of the Herculean task he had on his hands when he agreed to permanently swap the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the altogether more chaotic DCU, with The Flash underlining the sheer size of the job he’s got on his hands in order to stop the box office bleeding.
He may not have been involved in a creative capacity, but the fact the movie hasn’t been able to exceed the opening weekend of a pre-MCU flop that was released 20 years ago has ensured things are off to a fairly disastrous start. Elsewhere, a heavily-touted front-runner for a key role in Fantastic Four is more than open to the idea, while an underrated reboot has been capturing imaginations all over again.
The Flash can’t even beat a 20 year-old Marvel movie at the box office
Thanks to an opening weekend of $55 million, The Flash can safely be called DC’s latest major disappointment after just three days in theaters. As average as those numbers are, they’re even worse when comparable titles are used as a measuring stick.
That’s lower than both Tim Story’s Fantastic Four and Ang Lee’s Hulk, which hit theaters 18 and 20 years ago respectively, while it’s also only a shade above 2011’s Green Lantern and 1995’s Batman Forever, which underlines James Gunn’s daunting new job.
Fantastic Four front-runner seems more than happy to be in the mix
If you’ve been anywhere near the Fantastic Four rumor mill recently, then the chances are high you’ve seen Vanessa Kirby’s name come up more than once, and the Mission: Impossible alum seems thrilled to be in the conversation.
During a recent interview, she admitted it would be “an honor” to suit up as Sue Storm, but depending on whether or not you believe the scuttlebutt, she may have already signed on the dotted line long ago.
The Punisher that came after The Punisher but before The Punisher finds a brand new audience
Marvel has always struggled in getting the Punisher right in live-action – with even Jon Bernthal’s popular stint as the character suffering from the dreaded Netflix bloat after headlining a pair of 13-episode seasons, but it’s Thomas Jane that’s been winning over new converts recently.
2004’s take on Frank Castle has ended up as one of the most popular movies on Netflix this week, and there are a lot of people willing to die on the hill that it’s the best Punisher of them all.
That’s it for another week of all things Marvel, but be sure to circle back around tomorrow for your next fix.
