David Goyer Wants to Throw Green Arrow in Prison
Filed under: Action, Drama, Deals, Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Fandom, Scripts, Comic/Superhero/Geek
According to Wizard Entertainment, David Goyer -- fresh off a not-so-successful stint working for Warner Bros. on a big-screen version of The Flash -- has switched gears and moved onto another DC Comics hero, the Green Arrow. However, what he's pitched the studio is unlike any superhero film we've seen before -- that's right, Goyer's Green Arrow tale is more like DCU meets Fox's Prison Break. Pic will apparently center on the Green Arrow being wrongfully accused of a crime; he's then sent to a Super Max prison, stripped of his secret identity and forced to live amongst a slew of the same DCU villains he helped put away. In the meantime, while he's off defending himself, Arrow must find a way to trust these bad guys so that he can use their help to escape.
Goyer, who's developing the project with Justin Marx, says he also plans to tie in a graphic novel or miniseries. I assume something like that would help set up the origins of these villains, who they were before and how they wound up in this Super Max lock up. Keep in mind, none of these villains will appear in costume -- like Green Arrow, they've been stripped of their identities and forced to use their real names. Goyer explains, "We've populated the prison with all sorts of B and C villains from the DC Universe. For the fans, there will be all sorts of characters the hardcore comic book junkies will know, but they're all going to be there under their human names and no one is wearing a costume, but there will be a lot of characters with powers and things like that." Maybe it's because I'm, like, an uber geek when it comes to Fox's Prison Break, but I think this is one of the best superhero-themed ideas I've heard in a long time. It's different, it's unique and it will be fun to watch these guys do battle as real men without masks. What do you think about it? And who are some of the villains you'd like to see Goyer include?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-09-2007 @ 10:48AM
CapAmerica said...
BAD BAD BAD IDEA!!!!
I'm a Huge Green Arrow fan and all I can say is, If any Super Hero based movie deserves to be canned before it gets off the ground then this is it. If they want to make a Green Arrow movie stay TRUE to the comic other wise DON'T MAKE IT!
Unless Kevin Smith is involved in creating a script for Green Arrow a movie based on him should never be done.
I rather take the Jack Black Green Lantern over this horrid idea.
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4-09-2007 @ 2:48PM
Chris said...
Oliver Queen has been setup and framed before, and there are prisons full of super villains (Arkham being the most fun, but Iron Heights has gotten plenty of page time, especially with the Flash Rogues). There is nothing in this that makes it sounds like they are going way off character, so I'm not sure what the above post is complaining about.
As for Kevin Smith, I love his stuff, but his Green Arrow run wasn't the most "True" to the character either. It was a lot of fun, and he did a good job of raising the character from the dead figuratively and with the sales figures, but lets not pretend it was pure golden age Green Arrow. His was another reboot.
If you want to stick with the prison theme how about a Suicide Squad movie. You get the prison feel, any sort of political or international settings you want, and lots of crazy guys in or out of their funny clothes. Or an Arkham Asylum movie. I would love to see Living Hell get made into a movie. Its a good blend of horror, drama, and traditional tights and powers comic story.
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4-09-2007 @ 2:55PM
Aaron Walker said...
I agree with the first comment.
I never cared much for Green Arrow (although I did have the action figure growing up) so I haven't really been paying attention.
But, and this is the main thing, as a movie lover who has seen just about every superhero movie, this has got to be one of the dumbest ideas I have ever heard whether it was starring Green Arrow or Superman.
Why in God's name would any studio bank roll an idiotic idea like this for a minor DC character that has the film starting off with the hero in prison, not wearing his costume and having to fight and then befriend villians to break out of prison!?!?!?!?!? And NONE of them are in their costume.
This is just plain dumb. There is about to be one more movie exec looking for a job after this turkey crashes and burns.
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4-09-2007 @ 4:10PM
Chris said...
From commentary writers and directors have been making for years, one of the biggest studio request always seemed to be to get rid of the costumes, so that part might be appealing. B-List characters also mean B-list prices. Finally society as a whole has less invested so you get less fanboy rage happening.
Mind you, I still don't think this sounds like a particularly appealing use of the characters. I do really like the use of villains though, as they get to be a little more over the top than the hereos (The Creeper aside). That's why I wouldn't mind a Suicide Squad movie like I mentioned above, or even something like a Villains United or Secret Six. Even a Thunderbolts movie would be a lot of fun, especially the "All New/All Crazy" Norman Osbourne led group they have now.
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4-09-2007 @ 6:42PM
scotty said...
I don't know. This whole idea sounds like it would play out better as an arc in the series Heroes.
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4-09-2007 @ 7:16PM
Flembot said...
This is the freshest super hero flick idea i've heard. As i understand it they're going to use 'a' green lantern so not necessarily a cannonical one which means they won't have the associated baggage and the need for an extended origins sequence. A twist on the prison movie genre which will allow the filmakers to explore the superhero genre. I especially like the apparent emphasis placed on B and C level villains, to date completely neglected in film. Let's hope it makes it through development.
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4-10-2007 @ 7:18PM
Mike said...
Hollywood couldn't come up with a fresh idea if they had to. This is just recycling an old idea and taking a few names from the comic book to sucker a few comicbook fans into the seats. The very few comicbook adaptation that were the most decent were the ones that stayed closer to their comicbook origins. The large majority of them which stunk to high heaven bore the least resemblance to the source material. They regurgitate the same tired movie concepts, a yet realized love, a car chase, some explosions and then a small sampling of names and costumes from the comics. The wrongly accused on the run isn't anything new either. There is one of those movies out now. Having the main character shoot a bow instead of a gun sounds prime for a Razzie. Having an archer instead of a doctor, or an ex-marine, or a cop it's still just a retread. If they really wanted to do a good job they need to stop just trying to plug in a different profession to the same story idea isn't innovative, it's just lazy.
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4-15-2007 @ 11:36AM
Jon Hex said...
This is horrible. Green Arrow without his costume and arrows is just a man. They can put anyone into this movie and nothing would change. It's a dumb idea and completely untrue to the comic.
Kevin Smith's run on Green Arrow was true to the Green Arrow character established in the years after Crisis on Infinite Earths, and while Green Arrow may have been framed before, he was never unmasked and sent to prison. I can't believe Goyer could come up with this idea, and then have someone else agree with him. I hope this movie never sees the light of day.
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