Have they forgotten what original thought and new properties look like out in California?

Over the last decade, the volume of comic book properties that have been turned into movies has been growing.

I reflected over this rapid growth, then I  started to list all of the comic book movies that are due out over the next few years.

I made this staggering list off the top of my head in less than five minutes:

(In no particular order)

1. Spider-Man 4
2. Nick Fury
3. GI Joe
4. Jonah Hex
5. Man of Steel (Superman)
6. Green Hornet
7. Sin City 2
8. Deadpool
9. Green Lantern
10. X-Men Origins: Magneto
11. Wanted 2
    
12. The Avengers
13. The First Avenger: Captain America
14. Thor
15. Iron Man 2
16. Scott Pilgram vs The World
17. Magdalene
18. 300 2 (Yeah, forget the fact that damn near all of the characters died… that gives me an idea. “THIS IS ZOMBIE SPARTA!!!”)
19. Batman 3
20. World of Warcraft
21. Castlevania (Not a comic, but a video game is still close enough. This is only being made because of the current vampire boom in pop culture.)
22. The Last Airbender, which is  live action movie of Avatar: The Last Airbender (A cartoon, but another geek favorite)

That’s 22 right there, and this isn’t even counting novel adaptations and movie remakes (Twilight anyone?). I think they are all due out within the next two to three years.

I am also fairly certain that I forgot a few.

It’s kind of shocking isn’t it?

My feelings on this are mixed. On one hand, I’m sure a few of these will be great, but on the other hand, a lot will be steaming piles of poo.

Additionally, I am troubled by the lack of original thought. I understand that when the economy is in the toilet, studios (and everyone else in media) want to put their money in a “sure thing,” but this trend began when the economy was booming.

Most of these adaptations don’t add anything to the characters, they usually detract. When they are done well, they usually match the comics at their best.

Make something new, unique and good, and I promise I will go to see it. As far as this current wave of geeksploitation that we are experiencing goes, I think I am going to have to be more picky with the comic movies I support. I hope you will too.