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[gregjh]

Of course the big names like Batman and Spider-Man will stay with us but has the current generation of hero franchises reached its end?

We've had a good, some great, run of films. The Christian Bale Batman movies, several incarnations of Spider-Man, the brilliant battle between Avengers and Thanos and some surprising underdog heroes, too, such as Ant Man. However it does look like we're out of ideas. The latest wave of superhero films have been met with indifference. The plots, scripts and sometimes the actors themselves look tired and uninspired.It really does seem like all the best tales for this generation have been told. Perhaps we've passed the point of diminished returns, too: with Disney churning out lazy swill for its own streaming channel, dragging down the tone of all heroes films with it.

On the other hand, the success of the recent Mario film has people talking of a wave of video game films, encompassing far more options for differentiation and style than hero films.

[bowers]

 Let us hope this film genre is winding down. I, for one, have no interest whatsoever in viewing special effects extravaganzas with no plot and catered to pre-adults. Although some were good, many more were just plain awful! For the last few years it seems to me that the film industry has flooded the market with substandard offerings just to recoup their investments in all the franchises they bought. Where's the quality?
I don't think the genre is dead, but they will soon no longer be able to maintain the current market saturation they now enjoy. They are getting so expensive to make and they can't ALL be blockbusters! Cheers, Bowers

[paw broon]

As bowers writes, I also hope this genre is winding down.  I haven't seen all of the superhero films and some of those I have watched, parts were in fast forward. Someone told me Black Adam was worth a look, so I had a look but mainly because I'm a big Hawkman fan.  As I find it difficult to accept that theses films are like an alternative superhero universe, I couldn't get round Hawkman's abilities and resilience.  And all those special effects all over the shop???  Too much.
Oddly, a few of the DC animations have been better imo.  JSA WW11 and The New Frontier were very enjoyable.
It wont happen but I'd like to be able to watch, on my tv, plot based, less sfx laden masked mystery men shows.  I still enjoy some old serials and the Green Hornet tv show.

[bowers]

Ah, yes, paw- I also enjoyed The Green Hornet tv show. It was only later, when I was much older, did I wonder if Kato had to shampoo the carpet daily from having The Black Beauty driven across the living room floor and out the sliding billboard panel?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be2T_zWGZ5Q   Cheers, bowers

[gregjh]

I have to agree that it's probably good this genre is about to drop off. Don't get me wrong, I have really enjoyed some of the films and of course the big names will continue to have their movies made on a regular basis. But the deluge of bland, lazy scripts and characters we're seeing these days isn't just a sign the writers are out of ideas, it's also extremely arrogant. I think Hollywood writers have become complacent and in many cases, actively dislike their audience. With few exceptions, they don't want to make the effort to write flawed, gripping and exciting heroes when they can just churn out the same old tired cliches and political messages.
Let's hope the hibernation period will develop a fresh set of ideas and fresh minds behind them.

[The Australian Panther]

  I think Hollywood writers have become complacent and in many cases, actively dislike their audience.

You likely aren't aware of it, but we are about to enter  the age of AI generated scripts, so things are only going ot get worse.
I think that some of the current films are so unoriginal and cliche-ridden that AI has probably been doing some of the work anyway.
I just watch previews of current movies and that was enough.
The preview of Black Adam was appalling predictable and insulting.
There is very little humanity in many of these films.
The last good, - and it is refreshingly good - Superhero movie I saw was Valiant's BLOODSHOT. Unfortunately that was released during Lockdown and vanished withour trace. Tragedy.
Disaster for Valiant which was going strong at the time.         

[gregjh]

  I think Hollywood writers have become complacent and in many cases, actively dislike their audience.

You likely aren't aware of it, but we are about to enter  the age of AI generated scripts, so things are only going ot get worse.
I think that some of the current films are so unoriginal and cliche-ridden that AI has probably been doing some of the work anyway.
I just watch previews of current movies and that was enough.
The preview of Black Adam was appalling predictable and insulting.
There is very little humanity in many of these films.
The last good, - and it is refreshingly good - Superhero movie I saw was Valiant's BLOODSHOT. Unfortunately that was released during Lockdown and vanished withour trace. Tragedy.
Disaster for Valiant which was going strong at the time.         

That's a shame, it would be great to see more relative underdog companies doing well. I am not surprised to see AI doing the work. I'm a big believer in the free market and I like to think that in time, the human touch with extra effort will shine over AI scripts. There will surely be an interim period though.