Keys to a Good Comic to Movie Adaptation

John Campea 7 Comments

comiccharacters.jpgA few years ago it seemed like every single comic book movie coming out was great. The X-Men movies, the Spider-Man movies, hell I even really liked The Hulk. Then, DareDevil came out… a film which I personally liked, but even I admit it was the first sign of Comic Book to movie weakness. Then the horrible Catwoman… then Electra. Now it seems like a comic book movie is just as hit or miss as any other genre.

So what is it that separates the good comic movies from the bad ones? Well, there’s obviously no perfect formula, but the good folks over at ComicBookMovie.Com have posted up a pretty decent list of keys ingredients to a good adaptation. Here’s an excerpt:

3) Cast characters, not actors:
Again, another common mistake made in producing comic book movies. An existing character in the comic book universe shouldn’t be compromised and tailored to fit a movie star, no matter how big they might be. Compare Sam Raimi’s masterful casting of Alfred Molina as Doc Ock in “Spider-Man 2” to Joel Schumacher’s horrid misstep of making Mr. Freeze out of Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Batman and Robin,” and you’ll see the importance of putting a character in front of casting a big star.

An excellent point that is well made. The other keys to success that they list are:

1) Respect the source material
2) Play it straightforward
4) Hire passionate and established filmmakers, not flashy music video directors
5) Make the alter-ego just as important as the superhero
6) Ground the film in some sort of reality
7) Don’t forget about the fun of the comics

It’s a great little article that is well worth your time to head over and read. Then come back here and tell us what you would add or take away from that list.

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7 thoughts on “Keys to a Good Comic to Movie Adaptation”

  1. I wonder have all the comic book movies actually translated into increased comic book sales? I’d bet a big NO on that front.

    Anyone else find it silly that they’ll make a comic book adaptation of the comic book movie which is itself an adaptation of the the comic book?

    Back to the topic, all very good advice but as someone else said being a step ahead is also key. Take Spider-man for example. The upsidedown kiss in the rain? Sure Peter & MJ have probably already kissed upsidedown in the comics (he proposed to her while upsidedown kneeling on the ceiling) but Raimi took that cool “what if” idea and made it into one of the most memorable scenes, kissing in the rain. Then you have the Doc Ock & Spidey fighting on the train. That never happened in the comics but it’s one of the coolest fight scenes that really only would be possible with Spider-man & Doc Ock. It’s one of those things that make you think, “oh yeah I can totally see him doing that!”

  3. Screen/Joseph

    I said 75% of the 250 movies made are comic book related AND REMAKES….such as The Grudge, Charlie and the Choco Factory, War of the Worlds, etc, etc. IMO most of it is recycled garbage. Now there is going to be a Lost Boys remake and The Robe remake plus don’t forget the Fantastic Four, Wonderwoman, Batman Begins, XMEN 3……

  6. All very valid points made above from John, but the bigger issue for me is that Hollywood has turned into a comic book churning machine.

    Each year the major studios pour out approx 250 movies overall. If we took that list and ticked off all the comic book movies and all the remakes it would account for a majority of the flicks made….maybe upwards of 75% of the movies made. If you add in sequels/prequels and movies based on novels you’d hit damn near 95%.

    As a friend of mine from WB Studios recently said to me “There are very few original stories being bounced around Hollywood these days”.

    Sadly….that is true.

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