Two huge superhero movies are coming to theaters next month, and they will both be starting fresh with new takes on well-known heroes that have already had their stories told multiple times. DC Studios' Superman follows in the footsteps of several film versions, such as the original Superman series (1978-1987), Superman Returns (2006), and Man of Steel (2013). Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be the third attempt to hit a “fantastic” grand slam this century, after the 2005 Fantastic Four (trailed by its sequel) and the 2015 movie… Fantastic Four (again).
The industry will be holding its breath to see which movie wins at the box office. Although, Thunderbolts* has proven that theatrical revenue is not a litmus test for a superhero movie’s overall quality. Audiences who attend theaters next month would likely prefer another weighty Thunderbolts-esque feature than something like the frivolous A Minecraft Movie (which came close to earning $1 Billion). But before Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps even come out, the latter has already won the battle for better movie title.
DC and Marvel are going in a different direction with the titles of their respective upcoming releases. James Gunn originally announced his film as “Superman: Legacy”, before changing it to Superman. Whether or not the subtitle would have suited the narrative, it certainly would have differentiated it from the Richard Donner/Christopher Reeve classic. Even next year’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is avoiding conflict with both the 1980s movie and the Supergirl TV show.
On the contrary, Kevin Feige and Matt Shakman include the appropriate secondary title “First Steps” to succeed “The Fantastic Four”. Other than a common trend in the MCU, they probably wanted to distance the new story from the 2015 redo, which was one of the most forgettable superhero films of the century. Obviously, the quality of a movie does not directly relate to the title, but that movie failed in both areas. And even re-stylizing the title as “Fant4stic” did nothing to advance its marketability.
Superman is attempting to defy any notion that its title needs anything other than the central hero’s moniker and is spending more on marketing than even the most expensive films ever made. The movie itself will have to stand out, because re-using the title of what is probably the most beloved interpretation of the hero on screen, is a bold move.
James Gunn even made a similar decision with "Suicide Squad 2" – naming the sequel The Suicide Squad. He also doesn’t utilize subtitles for his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, instead applying a clever nod to the significance of music in the series, leaving Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as effective enough sequel names. While Gunn has become praised for the level of detail and care he brings to his projects, he appears to exert less effort when titling his movies.
The Suicide Squad is an unusual designation for a direct sequel, while The Batman was at least the first in a reset franchise. Nevertheless, The Batman hardly stands out as re-branding through titling, but fans can at least separate it from Tim Burton’s original Batman without mentioning the year or decade the two movies released.
What genre filmgoers definitely appreciate in a film series is some consistency; with actor portrayals and with narrative continuity, so a certain amount of value could also be placed on the name of a movie in adored franchises. And sometimes missed opportunities and hindsight can be contemplated after a franchise progresses with multiple sequels.
“Deadpool 3” was formally titled Deadpool & Wolverine, after Deadpool and Deadpool 2. But the second in the series also co-starred a major hero alongside Deadpool. Knowing what the third movie is called (despite it being after the fact), the trilogy would sound much cooler if the middle film was titled “Deadpool & Cable”.
One of the biggest missed opportunities in recent memory comes not from a superhero movie, but from Disney Animation. Instead of calling the Wreck-It-Ralph sequel “Wreck-It-Ralph 2”, the filmmakers landed on Ralph Breaks the Internet. Re-working the entire title without the use of subtitles is not the issue as much as the choice to use the word “breaks” when the main character “wrecks”. It seems like a conspicuous oversight not to go with the simplicity and relevance of “Ralph Wrecks the Internet”.
And the most glaringly inconsistent decision for recent blockbusters was to subtitle John Wick 3 with “Parabellum”, while the other movies are called John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2, and John Wick: Chapter 4. The production and marketing team dropped the ball somewhere along the way. On the contrary, some franchise films consist of extensive subtitles or could merely have particularly wordy titles, such as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King or The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, however they remain identifiable in their respective series and reward fans with consistency.
Despite the MCU’s dependable naming conventions, it is unfortunate that Iron Man is the only sub-franchise that strictly uses numbers in its sequels. Would the second one appeal more to audiences if it were called “Iron Man: Whiplashed”? Actually, considering that narrative’s themes, the subtitle “Legacy” may have been fitting for that story. But the newest MCU undertaking is off to a good start by including “first” in the title of the Fantastic Four’s introductory film.
As far as Superman goes, the DC Extended Universe already nabbed the more unique Man of Steel a decade ago, which sounds better than re-purposing previously used names. The follow-up to Man of Steel did take a turn for the worse. The attempt to tie-in the word “justice” was ill-conceived… Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was trying too hard to attract moviegoers. And the odd “v” without a period was the butt of industry jokes.
It is no wonder that DC Studios is running out of original names when they have rebooted their signature characters every decade this century. And with movies like The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 under his belt, it is clear that James Gunn is more concerned with storytelling, character development, and world building than coming up with a clever subtitle for his films. Aside from its title, enthusiasts can only hope for an auspicious start to the rising franchise when Superman arrives in theaters.