A few months ago, I reported on the release of an eight minute short which served to give viewers an idea of how the brutal mercenary Deathstroke came to be under the payroll of the merciless gangster Black Mask in the Arkham Universe, specifically Arkham Origins, which had been released months before (25th October 2013 to be exact). This short has gathered over 250,000 views, and features some fantastic special effects and choreography.
It has now come to light that director Chris White and Larry White from the Youtube channel ‘GoingNowhereShow‘ have teamed up with ‘Aggressive Comix‘. Details from the Kickstarter page show that the project will be 20 minutes long, and feature more plot than the previous video. The project will not be connected to their Deathstroke short, but will have both stuntman Spencer Mulligan and voice actor Jazor Marnocha (LordJazor) reprise their roles as the world’s deadliest mercenary.
The story would revolve around Rose Wilson (Ravager), the daughter of notorious assassin Slade Wilson (Deathstroke). We will follow her through training with her (manipulative and brutal) father Slade. We’ll see Rose gain her superhuman abilities and go on her first mission against Brother Blood & his demon worshiping cult….including a not so friendly Raven.
Let’s take a look at the facts: Deathstroke: Arkham Assassin was filmed on a very tight budget, using toy guns as props, Halloween masks for the Black Mask and his cronies, a single location to film in, and a costume which tore up after too much use (setting the project back months in post production as they edited out all the duct tape which held it together).
With all these problems, they still managed to produce a representation of the superhuman mercenary which is arguably on par with the Deathstroke in the CW’s Arrow adaptation. So, just think about what they could achieve with this $10,000 asking price on Kickstarter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPicpxnDldA
The video provided with the Kickstarter page also poses a very poignant question; how many female-led superhero movies have there been (and how many have been handled well)? This got me thinking about how the industry seems to approach the matter of female superheroes – I remember Amazon being discussed, and looking promising. At the same time, I managed to find this little short released at around the same time, and I remember thinking that this short showed just how well a live-action Wonder Woman could look.
It seems to me that shorts are quite a useful way for female superheroes to see the spotlight at the moment – and that if we can show DC and Marvel that there is demand for good female-driven superhero movies, and that even independent film makers can utilize the source material to produce something incredible…then there is no reason why the modern film and television industry cannot produce a film or television series of the same calibre.
With Marvel producing an Agent Carter and Jessica Jones television series (as well as finally considering a Black Widow film), and DC rumoured to release a Wonder Woman film in 2017 in the middle of a slew of DC films post-‘Dawn of Justice’, only time will tell if the television and film industry will finally realise that it’s not just men who save the world.
Please consider donating towards this Kickstarter to help aid an awesome cause
