Rumor: Warner Bros. Imposes "No Jokes" Rule On DC Comics Movies

[BoogieManFL]

Saying "No jokes." seems a bit short sighted to me. How about work on the script and the dialogue and see if any would fit the situations and characters before completely axing any chance for it. A little humor works well with people, so long as it doesn't feel forced or artificial. This just strikes me as a way of saying "We're different." for the sake of being different, like that is even required or expected.

I'm not a writer but I think that if I were, I would be frustrated at the loss of creative potential. I imagine it will make characters have less depth and personality if they are restricted from exhibiting a fundamental human emotion.

 

[anti movie bob]

Good, so there is no danger of DC characters turning into annoying snark machine shitty ass joss weadon characters that have no difference between them and all talk the fucking same
and there is humour in dc movies,, it just doesnt slap you in the face with its dick like marvel movies

 

[FalloutJack]

So, the WB solution to setting itself apart from Marvel is to be kind of stupidly one-dimensional? Come on... Even BATMAN has told a joke! And he's the DC straight-man if you ever saw one!

 

[Sniper Team 4]

But...I like the wit that the characters play off of each other with. Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited had plenty of humor. Teen Titans had humor. Young Justice had humor. All of those shows were mega hits.

You don't need to full on copy Marvel, D.C., but if you're seriously planning on sucking all the humor out of the movies, then I'm going to pass. I found Dark Knight Trilogy straining my nerves enough because it was so dark and 'real' with very little humor, but at least it was there. This would not be fun for me if they go this way.

 

[MrCaptainA]

With everything that's come out about this movie.... surely the film itself will be one big punchline.

 

[Darth_Payn]

Hear that? It's the sound of cocking the gun WB is going to shoot themselves in both feet with if they' re going to follow through on this really bad idea. I get superheroes are an inherently silly concept, but by Odin's beard, do they have to be so damn dour and take away the fun?! It's not just movies, it's a problem in DC's comics too. If civilians of all ages can be slaughtered en masse by the thousands, I'm just not having any enjoyment. It makes the heroes look like they suck at their jobs.

 

[Callate]

Assuming this is true, one has to ask... Is it really a good idea for all the jokes to be on the outside? (Or to spin a variant on the old saw, would you rather they be laughing at you than with you?)

 

[F-I-D-O]

Because, you know, having some form of pacing to your scenarios/dialogue has never helped any movie be enjoyable.
Hell, District 9 used "popping like popcorn" to not only dull a reaction to the slaughter of children, but also developed the main character, making his overall arc all the more interesting.
But no.
We need dark, serious Batman and Superman. Let's homogenize our characters into a bleak, depressing goop.
FOREVER.

 

[McMarbles]

It's like they WANT to fail.

captcha: leave me alone

is what I say to the idea of trying to do a grim Shazam.

 

[Varadar]

No jokes? Does that mean that they don't want to include Joker in their future movies?

 

[inidu]

Even Nolan's Batman movies have jokes, or at least moments that have an element of humor or levity. Movies completely devoid of humor have to be really REALLY solid thematically, or else they come off as pretentious.

I'm trying to think of a movie without any humor at all, and the only thing I can come up with is 2001 A Space Odyssey, but that movie barely has any human emotion at all so it's almost not applicable.

2001: A Space Oddyssey has humor, and quite possibly Stanley Kubrick's last ever throwaway joke:

They hold this shot, with the actor looking pensively at the instructions, for just the perfect amount of length for it to be hilarious.

 

[Olas]

Even Nolan's Batman movies have jokes, or at least moments that have an element of humor or levity. Movies completely devoid of humor have to be really REALLY solid thematically, or else they come off as pretentious.

I'm trying to think of a movie without any humor at all, and the only thing I can come up with is 2001 A Space Odyssey, but that movie barely has any human emotion at all so it's almost not applicable.

2001: A Space Oddyssey has humor, and quite possibly Stanley Kubrick's last ever throwaway joke:

Toilet Snip

They hold this shot, with the actor looking pensively at the instructions, for just the perfect amount of length for it to be hilarious.

That scene did occur to me after posting, I found it funny, but I wasn't sure whether it was intentional humor or just me being childish. In any case, it demonstrates how hard it is for directors to avoid slipping in humor somewhere.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

What, like at all?
C'mon fellas, I'm pretty in for these heroes to be dark and hardcore but c'mon, have so lightheartedness, will ya?

 

[Lunar Templar]

snip

Even with out this rumor, the movie is looking to be another failure anyway, just cause the guy that said it is a troll, doesn't devalue the rumor when there's plenty of reason to doubt the project in question.

 

[elvor0]

What was the best and, arguably, the most mature of the recent (highly successful) Batman films? What was it? The Dark Knight? With the villain of, wait for it, the Joker?

Oh, yes, DC, this is going to go so well.

Considering that version of The Joker didn't so much as make an amusing quip, I don't think he really works as a counter argument. He wasn't the Joker anymore than Ra's Al Ghul, Bane, or anyone else for the most part was to their comic book counter parts.

 

[Evonisia]

What was the best and, arguably, the most mature of the recent (highly successful) Batman films? What was it? The Dark Knight? With the villain of, wait for it, the Joker?

Oh, yes, DC, this is going to go so well.

Considering that version of The Joker didn't so much as make an amusing quip, I don't think he really works as a counter argument. He wasn't the Joker anymore than Ra's Al Ghul, Bane, or anyone else for the most part was to their comic book counter parts.

I think the closest we got to humorous from him was the "I'm going to make this pencil disappear" scene. I laughed at that.

 

[Strain42]

Hey WB...Why so serious? (yes...perfect...there's no way anyone else in the past 5 pages thought of that joke...)

I mean I can respect not wanting to take the action comedy route that Marvel has taken. I think that's healthy and will make them feel different...but trust me, costumed heroes running out punching bad guys gets kinda boring if you don't have SOME levity attached...

I cringe how they plan to do the Joker or even someone like the Riddler if they're going to follow some strict No Jokes policy.

Honestly, just the concept of some guy in a suit and tie going "No Jokes!" sounds like some comic book plot put in place by Gotham to keep Joker related shenanigans down. Then Joker has to show up and do the things he do...

 

[KikReask]

I remember in Batman Begins while that movie was dark and serious there were quite a few humorous moments thanks to the acting between Christian Bale and Michale Caine acting just like normal people toward one another, like in the plane scene that was funny and subtle. I honestly cannot take someone like Superman seriously, that's why I wasn't impressed with the new movie last year, how am I supposed to take him seriously? A guy in a blue costume with a red cape and red boots? These characters were made for children back in the 30s for like 10c why do they have to be so dark.

I can go on about how well the Marvel Cinematic Universe has done with comedy but everyone has already done that. And while that franchise isn't completely perfect (The only ones I didn't like were The Incredible Hulk and Thor 2) it is still more self aware. Even the X-Men cinematic universe doesn't take itself seriously all the time, it has a lot of dark and emotional moments sure but it had many funny moments too like Wolverine losing his memory and freaking out over Beast's appearance, Magneto pushing Banshee off the satellite, or the Quicksilver scene.

I'm not asking for DC to go back to the stupid comedy of the Adam West Batman certainly not but at least lighten up a bit here and there. Does this mean we won't see the Joker in any recent films?

 

[PunkRex]

Sounds great

We are very different people, my friend

I don't have a problem with it in theory. Hell, it's actually a good decision to contrast with Marvel's films. It's just that, considering their track record so far, I really don't trust they have the talent to pull it off.

I'm always telling my sister (who loves the MCU despite not actually reading comics) that that's just how WB rolls and that it's a good idea as it sets them apart... but then I remember their movies and why this is probably a bad idea.

Making a character overly serious is one easy way to disconnect them from the audience, doubt i'll be seeing many folks drawing happy group shots of WB's Justice League just chilling out eating ice cream and playing Wii Sports. Again, setting your product apart is great but if they want a overly active fan base this is probably not the best way to go.

 

[elvor0]

I remember in Batman Begins while that movie was dark and serious there were quite a few humorous moments thanks to the acting between Christian Bale and Michale Caine acting just like normal people toward one another, like in the plane scene that was funny and subtle. I honestly cannot take someone like Superman seriously, that's why I wasn't impressed with the new movie last year, how am I supposed to take him seriously? A guy in a blue costume with a red cape and red boots? These characters were made for children back in the 30s for like 10c why do they have to be so dark.

So...you can take a man that runs around on rooftops in a bat costume seriously but not Superman?

Complaining that they have to be so dark is kinda offset by your opening sentence praising the Nolan trilogy, and your worry that there might not be any Joker, when again, the Joker in the nolan movies didn't even make so much as an amusing quip. The real Joker certainly wasn't in /those/ movies. There were moments of light heartedness, but acting as if the Nolan trilogy didn't take itself seriously to the extreme in its fetish for realism is kind of off; they were still very dark films. Nolans films took themselves so seriously they threw everything aside from Batmans origin story out the window in the name of seriousness. No Ra's al Ghul, No Joker, No Bane, No Catwoman, No penguin, no clay face, no killer croc, no lazurus pits, no venom, no supervillians, no batmobile, no joker venom, no acid flowers, no jokes, no crazy comic book schemes, otherwise they might detract from the seriousness of the very grown up and realistic story we're trying to tell. About a man in a bat costume that runs around on rooftops.

You can't complain DC is trying to take itself too seriously /and/ praise the Nolan movies.

Mentioning comics were made in the 30s for children hasn't held water since at the very least 1973, when Gwen Stacy died. They haven't really been for children for a very long time. Things evolve, things "mature" and change.