It was just three summers ago that Steven Spielberg was speculating about the death of the superhero movie, assuring that it would go the way of the Western. Now the heavyweight director seems to see creative life near where he once envisioned a funeral.
Warner Bros. and Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment announced Tuesday that they would produce Blackhawk, a film based on the DC Comics property, with Spielberg intending to direct.
At first glance, the deal can be interpreted as a sign: Spielberg doesn’t see the superhero trend cashing in its commercial chips any year soon.
On the other hand, it bears noting: Spielberg’s Blackhawk might not be a true superhero story at all, despite the DC Comics badge (and despite the fact that some outlets were already tabbing it as a “superhero movie”).
Which means this might well be less of a directing departure for Spielberg than Hollywood watchers foresee.
First, Blackhawk and his squadron of ace pilots were rendered for decades not as superheroes, but rather as World War II heroes who happened to have super skills. Quality Comics launched the line during the war – in the same era as Captain America’s debut – and the multinational cast created by Chuck Cuidera, Bob Powell and the mighty Will Eisner for Military Comics (August 1941) engages in action-adventure tales that require no capes or tech worthy of a modern Batman.
So the question becomes: What iteration of the Blackhawk Squadron will Spielberg bring to the screen, as he decides how connected these heroes are – or not – to the larger DC Universe?
In DC comics history, most of the squadron members eventually donned superheroic alter egos and fought costumed baddies and supervillains.
Yet because Spielberg has shown such an affinity for choosing projects set during World War II and Nazi Germany – including Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List and Raiders of the Lost Ark – it is easy to see him harking back to the pre-superheroic Blackhawk team, even if Warner Bros./DC wants some of its better known superheroes to make an appearance.
In other words: A “Steven Spielberg” DC Comics movie might not feel like a DC Comics superhero movie at all.
What is an especially noteworthy turn, though, is that the filmmaker is betting on DC’s larger success years into the future.
Coming off the Oscar-nominated The Post and nearly a half-billion dollars in box-office returns for Ready Player One, Spielberg still has a fifth Indiana Jones film and a new West Side Story to direct before he could potentially turn fully to Blackhawk, which has no announced release date.
Yet that doesn’t mean scriptwork hasn’t already begun. Frequent Spielberg collaborator David Koepp is already launched in the screenplay.