File this one under some crazy news, if it turns out to be true. NYMag’s Vulture blog is reporting that Barry Sonnenfeld, director of the Men in Black series, is going to helm a DC Comics project: Metal Men.
According to the report, Sonnenfeld has teased that he’s working on adapting a 60s DC Comic. They only source “spies” at the studio, so take it with a grain of salt for now.
The Metal Men consists of Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Tin, and Platinum, six androids made entirely of their respective metal, and each with a unique superpower, along with their creator Will Magnus. The androids haven’t appeared yet in the DC New 52 universe, and were last featured prominently in Wednesday Comics and as a backup feature in Doom Patrol.
If Metal Men truly goes to screen, particularly before a Justice League film, it would mean that Platinum (as the female android) has made it to theaters ahead of Wonder Woman.
June 21st, 2012 at 9:05 am
“If Metal Men truly goes to screen, particularly before a Justice League film, it would mean that Platinum (as the female android) has made it to theaters ahead of Wonder Woman.”
DUMBEST. POINT. EVER.
June 21st, 2012 at 9:08 am
I love this idea. DC should do more with the outside the box characters instead of just aping what’s been done by Marvel (or by DC for that matter).
June 21st, 2012 at 9:27 am
I can see the pitch: It’s like T2 meets the Munsters plus the Incredibles!
Unless it becomes a Disney XD series, I don’t see it going anywhere.
June 21st, 2012 at 9:37 am
This is a no-brainer on DC/WB’s part. You have a shared origin, visually different and dynamic but with a common theme, broad personalities, and robots. Of all of DC’s properties, this is a toyline waiting to happen.
June 21st, 2012 at 9:47 am
Oh, please let it be true!
One thing, they’ve never been called androids, just robots. Mind, they all fucntion as sentient metal.
June 21st, 2012 at 10:13 am
Hmmm…60′s comic? Couldn’t it just as well be Doom Patrol?
June 21st, 2012 at 12:22 pm
You can debate the merits of a Metal Men movie all you want. Can I just point out BARRY SONNENFELD?! Time to bring those expectations wayyyyyy down.
June 23rd, 2012 at 7:13 am
this blog is so nice
June 23rd, 2012 at 7:14 am
how nice the blog
June 23rd, 2012 at 8:56 am
“You can debate the merits of a Metal Men movie all you want. Can I just point out BARRY SONNENFELD?! Time to bring those expectations wayyyyyy down.”
NEW. DUMBEST. POINT. EVER.
Because, y’know, Sonnenfeld has no experience in turning obscure, off-the-radar comic books (Men In Black) into hit movies. Yeah, I don’t see it going anywhere. But they’ll be laughing all the way to the Bank of Nowhere. But then, you probably didn’t like the Men In Black films, or, I’m guessing, the Metal Men comic book either.
June 23rd, 2012 at 10:08 pm
ONLY if Ozzy is one of the ‘Metal Men’ will I see this.
June 23rd, 2012 at 11:11 pm
This will be in development hell alongside Lobo, Shazam and the Wonder Woman movie they keep pushing back.
June 24th, 2012 at 5:57 am
Development hell beats “Green Lantern” movie-by-committee production.
WB doesn’t know enough to leave the studio execs out of it. Remember about a decade ago when development began to reboot Superman and someone (I think it was Kevin Smith) leaked that one of the studio execs in a meeting said something along the lines of “So, why does he have to be an alien. Couldn’t he be from Earth?”
The only good comic book movies they seem able to make are Batman movies. That or non-super hero movies based on graphic novels or Vertigo series (Constantine notwithstanding)
June 24th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
This is intriguing. But the Metal Men are such a “comic book” idea, it’s hard to imagine how it could work as live action. *Maybe* as a fast paced, challenging animated film, but live action? It would be all transformations from one shape to another and CGI, and could easily end up messed up like Transformers.
June 24th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Okay, what’s our character arc? Robots discovering their humanity? Dr. Magnus discovering the robots’ humanity?
If they go with the 1990′s version, Gold was infused with his brother Mike’s consciousness, and Platinum with that of the brother’s fiancee. So Dr. Magnus develops a relationship with the “ghost” of his brother’s fiancee, which is pretty twisted.
If they do Wonder Woman, it should be a straight-up comedy with lots of sexual innuendo. Like straddling vaguely phallic missiles. Or getting tied up with her own rope and forced to submit to her male enemies in humiliating, sexualized ways. And of course you can’t leave out that “ba dada tata tum” transformation sequence that the trannies always imitate in their “Pride” parades.
June 24th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Well, if I was writing it (sigh), the character arc would be the Metal Men discovering that they have minds of their own. Magnus thinks they’re just machines, but he builds something far more amazing than even he realizes. Meanwhile, the people of Earth discover that there is some incredibly weird, messed up stuff hiding in plain sight, and sentient robots are just the tip of a strange iceberg.
I like the approach of the last miniseries, with all the Grant Morrison ideas. Mad scientists are just part of that world. They have their own communities and and prisons and so forth, and are mostly ignored by everyone else. But then Magnus comes along with his Metal Men and they become famous, which upsets natural the order of things. It would work better if this wasn’t part of a coherent DC film universe, because then they could go wild and not worry about how that would affect Superman or Batman’s movies.
June 24th, 2012 at 5:27 pm
Considering the success of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I’m surprised that Warner didn’t jump at the chance to produce their own set of movies. DC has a plethora of ape and other simian characters: Congorilla, Detective Chimp, Djuba, Gorilla Grodd, Gorilla Man, Gorilla Boss, Monsieur Mallah, Sam Simian, Titano, Ultra-Humanite, Primate Patrol, Solavar and all the apes of Gorilla City. Sure, most of them are villains but I’m sure they can make something work.
I love the Metal Men (and one Metal Woman), but you can’t go wrong with a good ape movie!
June 24th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
Come to think of it, I think a Metal Men movie could work if they design it along the lines of the Mighty Orbots cartoon.