The Last of Us’ season finale has come and gone. Like the game that inspired it, the show’s first season ended in dramatic fashion, leaving audiences breathless. Now the long wait comes before the next season begins filming.
The series was a major achievement on a number of fronts. Not only did it revitalize what had become a stagnant zombie scene, but it proved that mainstream audiences want more than irreverent, self-aware comedy when it comes to horror. More importantly, TLOU proved that video games are a worthwhile cinematic endeavor.
Above all else, the show’s true mark on sci-fi culture is in its production. Following Netflix’s The Sandman‘s lead, TLOU’s overwhelming success is evidence that being true to the source material and treating it with respect is what fans want, gamers and non-gamers alike. In fact, as both The Sandman and TLOU have shown, the best products come straight from the creators themselves. It’s a formula that both Kevin Feige and James Gunn could learn from as they navigate what is quickly becoming a declining superhero cinematic landscape.
Marvel Studios’ red flag
Last year, Marvel Studios producer Nate Moore confirmed what many of us had suspected in regards to an MCU that is steering further from the comics that inspired its creation. In an interview with podcaster Matthew Belloni, Moore said that Marvel Studios increasingly avoids working with comic book readers. “A lot of times we’re pitched writers who love Marvel, and to me that’s always a red flag.”
It’s easy to bash Marvel and Disney for Moore’s comments, and there’s no shortage of irony here. A producer for a studio built on Marvel lore seeing a love for comics as a red flag is, in fact, a banner-sized red flag for MCU fans. Moore’s comments create an air of snobbery when it comes to Marvel Studios’ views on comics, but there’s more to it than simply a disdain for the source material.
To be fair, his logic is sound, explaining, “I don’t want you to already have a pre-existing idea of what it is because you grew up with the comics, and that’s what you want to recreate.” Clearly, translating a written work to screens big or small is a complicated process, and filmmakers understandably want to make the work their own. In the case of Disney and Marvel Studios, those companies have the task of crafting products that appeal to more than simply comic book fans. Naturally, what we see on the screen won’t be a panel-by-panel copy of what we’ve seen in the comics.
As much as I appreciate Moore’s viewpoint, his “red flag” comments are still concerning. It helps explain the dip in quality we’ve seen post-Endgame as Marvel loses sight of what made their characters iconic in the first place. Some of Marvel’s most successful films have been helmed by true-blue comic fans. Joe and Anthony Russo, the masterminds behind fan-favorite Captain America films The Winter Solider and Civil War as well as the record-setting Avengers flicks Infinity War and Endgame, are proud members of the comics community. Jon Favreau, who kicked off the MCU with arguably Marvel Studios’ best film, Iron Man, has his comic nerd card as well. More recently, the only director to land Marvel a Best Picture Oscar nomination, Ryan Coogler, is a professed comic reader. Don’t forget about Drew Goddard who etched his name into superhero cinema lore with Netflix’s Daredevil, a series that paid homage to Frank Miller’s character-defining work from the 1970s and ’80s to create arguably the best superhero show of all time.
While not being too anchored to the comics can make for stellar adaptations, Phase Four (and now Phase Five) is a great example for the need to have comic fans involved in the filmmaking process. Even better, Marvel should incorporate the comic creators into the production process.
When the source material is ignored, it’s easy to lose grip on what fans love about Marvel. That is a primary reason for the failings of Phase Four, with Thor: Love and Thunder serving as a perfect example. Comic writer Jason Aaron’s original story of Thor Odinson becoming unworthy of his power and Jane Foster taking up the mantle was dramatic and emotional. Her cancer diagnosis was integral to her character rather than her romantic connection to Thor. By the time she sacrificed herself for the greater good, it was impactful.
Clearly, that’s not what we got from Love and Thunder. The source material was discarded in favor of silliness and hijinks to the detriment of the story. Had Aaron been given a larger role in the project’s development, this could have been one of the MCU’s better films.
Shedding the stigma
When this year’s television awards season comes to a head at the Emmys, the sci-fi and fantasy genres will be well represented. Netflix’s The Sandman was a massive hit for the streaming platform, and it’s found a dedicated audience. Meanwhile, HBO has redefined what it means to adapt a video game story into a live-action series with The Last of Us. Both shows should do well in the awards categories, which would help further legitimize both comic and video game adaptations. Who knows? With enough awards, even Moore might change his tune about comic fans being involved in making Marvel projects.
That’s the thing about TLOU and Sandman. These are passion projects with their creators at the helms, and that passion bleeds onto the screen. In the case of Sandman, comic legend and modern literary icon Neil Gaiman is the lead writer, which has been a boon for the show. After all, he created the 1989 Sandman comic series and its characters, crafting a fantasy epic that is beloved by multiple generations of fans. Having him write the scripts and steer the proverbial Sandman ship has kept the Netflix series in line with the comics. More so, it has resulted in a dramatic interpretation that retains its respect for those characters.
As much disdain as Hollywood has for comic books and superheroes, the stigma is worse when it comes to video game interpretations. Prior to TLOU, the adaptations had been nothing short of dreadful. It speaks volumes when Sonic the Hedgehog and the latest Mortal Kombat flick stood head and shoulders above the field as the best of the best. Similar to Marvel’s more recent approach to its products, filmmakers tended to think of video games as kids’ affairs that were nothing to be taken seriously. Judging by the Resident Evil films, the mantra appeared to be the worse, the better. Like comic fans, gamers are aware that video games come in all shapes and sizes. While the likes of Sonic and Super Mario Bros. have an indelible kid-friendly atmosphere, there are much more dramatic and mature stories that are anything but kids’ stuff.
Like Sandman, The Last of Us is spearheaded by its creators, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin. As Gaiman brought his vision to life at Netflix, Druckmann and Mazin molded HBO’s TLOU adaptation to give what players loved about the original game. While Marvel may see that as a red flag, audiences and critics alike have embraced the show, making it one of the biggest hits of 2023 so far. It’s given gamers hope that other adaptations will get a similar treatment when the cameras roll on the likes of God of War and Ghost of Tsushima. The key factor will be how much influence the games’ creators will have on the final products.
James Gunn and the DCU
Judging by Marvel’s upcoming slate of films and streaming releases, Feige and his brain trust have yet to learn these lessons. After Goddard’s groundbreaking work on Daredevil, fans were less than pleased when the MCU’s DD broke out the early ’60s costume for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. More recently, word has spread that Daredevil: Born Again will be more or less a reboot rather than a continuation of Goddard’s gritty Miller-esque take on the Man Without Fear. Despite both the Punisher and Kingpin returning for the Disney Plus series, it’s shaping up to be another cartoony, kid-friendly action-comedy. It’s enough to drive purists away from comic book adaptations altogether, but that could be premature. Before throwing out the baby with the bathwater, Gunn deserves a chance to shine at DC Studios.
Comic fans are waiting to see what he has in store for the all-new, all-different DCU. Last month, he unveiled the initial rollout under his first phase, Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. While it’s too early to say whether he will follow Marvel’s low-brow, slapstick formula, there is hope for comic purists. Gunn is a comic fan. In fact, he has acknowledged the influence of Grant Morrison’s work on Chapter One while singing the writer’s praises. That bodes well for DC.
As much as I love Gunn’s work, he isn’t a comic writer. The next step, then, will be for him to allow creators like Morrison, Jim Lee, Geoff Johns, or Scott Snyder to name a few who could take the lead and create DC’s version of The Last of Us.
