Films That Should Be Made: The Spectre

With recent talk from screenwriter Greg Berlanti of how dark The Flash could be. I'm wondering what other characters could be DC Entertainment be thinking of adapting into dark horror themed films. I just discovered the animated short film for The Spectre and I'm hooked in. I believe this character has some serious promise if done properly. The vengeful hero was a cop who was murdered but never moved on to the afterlife. He enacts grave revenge on those he believes deserves it. In the short film he does this by poltergeist means possessing people and objects to monstrous ends.


I've been recently turned back into enjoying the characters from DC. It's been a long time since I've cared for anyone except Batman. Warner Bros.  proved with Watchmen they want to be more risky with their comic book films. With Green Lantern looking to expand the DC Universe I'm confident we'll be seeing more interesting genre based heroes being adapted into movies.

Deadman is one of these heroes who I believe could end up branching out the DC Universe. The story revolved around a murdered Daredevil who becomes a ghostly hero. Guillmero del Toro is somewhat attached to the film but I assume he could end up only be involved with writing/producing duties. I would love to see DC take risks with characters like this one and Spectre. Previously they tried with Constantine but it didn't push the boundaries enough.




WHO SHOULD DIRECT?: I would honestly like someone direct who has a horror background. Yet with somewhat of a auteur pedigree of film making. Some directors that come to mind include Matt Reeves (Let Me In, Cloverfield) and Vincenzo Natali (Splice, Cube). Matt Reeves is currently being looked at to direct both Wolverine 2 and Superman but if he doesn't get hired I think Spectre would be a perfect for him. Vincenzo Natali is another director who likes to work on both horror and comic films. Natali recently said he'd love to make an Alpha Flight film and has been attached to direct Swamp Thing. 

Vincenzo Natali To Direct Neuromancer

Marketwatch (via CBM) reports that Splice director Vincenzo Natali will helm Neuromancer based on the cyberpunk novel by William Gibson. I had posted an article on the project years ago when Hayden Christensen (Revenge of The Sith, Jumper) was attached to star. Natali next film was going to be The Swamp Thing but there have been rights issues which have halted development. It will be interesting to see Vincenzo jump into the world of sci-fi thrillers. This will be independently financed without help from a major studio similar to Splice which ended up getting picked for distrubtion by Warner Bros. after showing at Sundance.

The story of a washed-up computer hacker hired by a mysterious employer to work on the ultimate hack. Seven Arts sees Neuromancer as part of a potential multi film series as many of Gibson's sci-fi masterpieces have yet to be adapted to the big screen.

Vincenzo Natali Wants To Make Alpha Flight

Splice director Vincenzo Natali talked to MTV and revealed another comic series he'd like to take on eventually. Considering the rights issues with Swamp Thing have put the project on hold we don't know what he'll be up to next. He mentions Alpha Flight, a group of Canadian mutants who work for Department H an agency within the Canadian government. The X-Men spin-off isn't what you call a fan favorite but it would be interesting to see the Canadian spin on the superhero genre, excluding Scott Pilgrim of course. What's interesting is that unlike X-Men First Class it would make sense for Wolverine to make a cameo or even be featured in the film. Considering Logan was once a member of Alpha Flight before joining the X-Men. I'm sure 20th Century Fox is frothing from the mouth with the thought of another film that could lure Hugh Jackman's Wolverine into the mix.

"I have thought about that a little bit," said Natali in regards to the possibility of making a lower-budget movie about lesser-known comic characters. "I'll put this out there: maybe Alpha Flight. I thought that would be interesting, to give a little Canadian angle on the superhero mythology. It's an interesting group and it had a lot of different members, so you can take it in a number of different directions. I think it would be cool."