Originality is becoming a far less common element in cinema. From reboots to sequels, prequels to remakes, Hollywood has definitely slowed down the pace in which it produces fresh and original ideas for its ventures.
This was ultimately to be expected, with Hollywood producing approximately 600 movies per year in recent times. The current thought-process of Hollywood and the film industry in general, is that if new ideas can’t be conjured, success lies in using films that have succeeded in the past and telling them for a new generation, in the hope that that previous success can be repeated or improved upon. This is definitely the case for a large part of the super-hero movie genre.
With Spider-Man's recent reboot (with origin story), Superman returning again next year ( also with origin story), and the pending Batman reboot that most people are probably a bit anxious about, it is safe to say that movie studios are sensing the chance to make serious money from reimagining the stories of some of the world’s most loved comic-book heroes.
In the last ten years, the movie industry has seen commercial successes in the form of Batman, Spiderman, Iron-Man, Captain America, and Thor. And the list continues on.
But one key element in each of these movies telling the story of a rise to hero status, has been the much-debated origin story.
With what seems like the world awaiting the announcement of a future Batman reboot, the Caped Crusader’s first big screen outing without Christopher Nolan since 1997, many are querying the studio’s next move with the much beloved character. 2005’s ‘Batman Begins’ told the Dark Knight’s origin for the first time in film, and it proved to be a defining moment in the super-hero genre; a highly successful and critically acclaimed defining moment.
But the question remains as to whether these reboot’s of super-hero characters now require the origin story treatment. Having seen the training of Bruce Wayne and creation of Batman, the spider-bite and Ben Parker’s death (twice), the issue arises as to whether Hollywood faces over-telling these stories to the point where we no longer care for the story, the point being that we already saw this, and not that especially long ago.
The recent reboot of Spider-Man, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’, highlighted this particular issue, with many critics and fans claiming to find the film simply repeating what we had seen in 2002 with Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’. Admittedly, much of the story was similar, but to their credit the studio behind the film attempted with sufficient success to re-tell the story of Peter Parker with new ideas and new characters not before seen on the big-screen.
Many people have clearly stated their want for Warner Brothers to avoid telling the origin story of Batman, when the time comes for his reboot.
But to these people, I ask where will the emotional connection come from?
These characters, created originally for the comic-book medium, have had their origins re-told countless times, but with each and every time, we as the reader establishes a sense of sympathy for the character, finding a way to relate to their initial struggles.
Fans of Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’ are likely to disagree, but that film lacked something that has come to be essential to the super-hero movie genre and that was the origin story. Having a super-hero already established makes for a character deprived of emotion, lacking any effect on his/her audience. This point can be most definitely re-iterated by simply uttering the words 'Batman & Robin'.
Then came along 'Batman Begins' and it's realistic, dark and most importantly heroic telling of Batman's origin story. And I don't need to tell you how well that approach was received, the movie paving the way for the ground-breaking trilogy, that only now has concluded.
Those of us who favour ‘Batman Begins’ and the original Spider-Man of 2002 as the best of their respective trilogies will argue that the origin story was the key factor in that film being their favourite. An origin-story ultimately creates the connection between the hero and the audience, putting in place a foundation for further outings. Where would The Dark Knight be without Batman Begins? And where would Spider-Man 2 be without Spider-Man? I doubt either sequel would have been as successful without its predecessor and that alone makes for a substantial case that the origin story must be told.
As we look toward the future of the super-hero genre, there is a great deal of optimism to be found, with the upcoming movie adaptations of characters Black Panther and Ant-Man providing us fans with the chance to experience these characters for the first time in film.
But with the level of success and fan adoration there is attached to Batman and Spider-Man, further reboots of these two, amongst others, are a certainty, and the success of these movies will most definitely hinge on the decision whether to bypass or re-tell/re-imagine the origin story. We may have heard and seen it before, but isn’t that what makes these characters so special to us. Their origin story is what has made them the characters they are, and the ones we have come to universally love. And this love has grown from those first steps our heroes took; the steps towards hero status.
And who wouldn’t want to see and experience that, again and again…and again.