adam wingard | Heroic Times

So a new trailer just broke 15 minutes ago called BRIGHTBURN, labeled as produced by James Gunn.

Here is the trailer:

Okay.

So you do not have to be a superhero fan to recognize that this is the Superman/Superboy origin, except uh— evil.

Very clearly from the crashing ship, to the couple on the farm who discover a child they always wanted, to the ship buried in the barn, to the red cape , to the powers, these are very familiar Superman/Superboy tropes.

Now if this was April 1st I would say someone is having a laugh and this is an April Fool’s Day prank.

Why?

Because if I was DC, I would say… ” WTF?? Are you kidding, you are going to rename the characters and do an Elseworlds SUPERBOY story without paying us???!”

Actually, I love it.

I hope it is real, and there are enough changes that Gunn gets away with it. I think the concept of SUPERMAN not being in public domain after 80 years is simply ridiculous. So good on James Gunn if this trailer is legit.

It would not be the first evil superhero film to skate under the radar. Adam Wingard’s brilliant 2014 action film THE GUEST, very much is the tale of an evil Steve Rogers/Captain America, an evil Super Soldier. And there is another mainstream film out there that plays either as a Joker origin story, or an evil Bruce Wayne story.

So these mash-ups do happen. I mean there is a reason that Copyright was set at 50 years. The lawmakers in their wisdom understood that if an idea had persisted after five decades it had become, like Robin Hood, or Mark Twain, or the three Musketeers, an indelible part of the cultural conversation and zeitgeist. And as such usable by all.

So yeah I don’t know if BRIGHTBURN is a real movie, or Gunn just having a laugh, either way I enjoyed him releasing the trailer!!

DEATH NOTE – less horror than action-fantasy, prolific director Adam Wingard continues to prove himself one of the most innovative and exciting genre directors working; making this adaptation of the lauded manga and anime its own thing, that works beautifully for a feature film.

Great casting, great performances, and a compelling and exciting take on the DEATH NOTE source material, makes for a film that I personally like quite a lot. No it is not the manga, and no it is not the anime, if you want just that… that already exists, rewatch to your hearts content. What this is… is the concept of DEATH NOTE turned into something that works at a feature, rather than episodic, length. Job Done.

Also while I liked the anime, beyond a point I found it a bit long in the tooth, and all the characters while intriguing not exactly.. gripping. With the live action Wingard gets to flesh out the characters with really talented actors.

Nat Wolff’s Light Turner imbuing the relatively cold and calculating character of the anime, with a humanity and likability and relate-ability that makes you care. It is a fitting change to make, and it is a strength of Wingard’s recent films such as THE GUEST, to give us characters who, like most of us, are somewhere between sinner and saint. Shea Whigham is always compelling, and brings to the role of James Turner, Light’s Dad, a warmth and strength and conviction, and nearly palpable love for his son, that is lacking in the anime.

Lakeith Stanfield, the actor who plays the quirky, candy loving, ‘L’ for my money makes that character even more compelling and interesting than in the anime. It is an inspired bit of casting and his performance largely steals the show.

And speaking of genius casting, Dafoe’s voice as Ryuk… GENIUS.