If a CoH movie were actually made, what story should it tell?

I know according to the sparse info out there on the Internet, IF this film were ever to get made, supposedly it's going to focus on the Rikti War. If done properly, I agree it could be quite cool. But I wonder if there might be other stories in the CoH canon that might be better suited to a movie, assuming we actually want plot, and not just Michael Bay explosions and the more-than-occasional T&A shots.

(And before anyone makes the comment, we could probably have BOTH plot and the aforementioned explosions and T&A shots. But plot should fit in there somewhere.)

A few folks have said they'd rather the movie NOT focus on the Phalanx, and instead focus more on some of the lesser-known heroes. (Or as a couple people suggested, have a contest to see whose heroes/villains make it into the movie.)

What do you guys think?

(And for that matter, should it be animated? CGI? Live action?)

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

well with the CGI today it could be a live movie but i guess the plot would be

It starts with statesman about to join the army then while in the feild he runs into lord recluse they become buddys and after the war they go into exploration to see the world and they run into the fountion of power and they drink from it and during the transformation due to the fountains powers LR falls off a cliff into a fissure statesman is all like NOOOOOO. and when statesman gets back home he desides to use his powers for good... then blah blah rikti stuff building freedom phalanx all that jazz then LR shows up and becomes statesmans arc foe but statesman doesnt know until he tells him later down the road and statesman is like What? No!

and stuff

then they could have another movie but as LR as the main char to fill in what happened to him and how LR got there

A full on version of 'Incarnate' would be pretty cool =P
Less focus on the Phalanx might well be a good thing. And yes, dont, for the love of all thats holy in cinematography, DONT let Bay direct it. Dont let Bay into the same COUNTRy its being filmed in...

And either get someone like Weta to do it if it was live action, as they know how to pull that off without looking pants (Weta/Newline) or do it full CGI, a la Advent Children.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

The Vahlizlok Arc. Zombie movies are in these days.

I had actually discussed this with a few friends before, funny that.

Anyway, I do think it should focus on Statesman and the Freedom Phalanx, if only by virtue of them being the iconic Heroes of the City.

The thing with CoX, though, is that there's a lot of lore, but not all of it is necessarily expansive enough for a whole movie, and mashing together Carnie and Crey and Malta plots would probably just create an incoherent movie, so picking a story that can be expanded into a full movie that also just so happens to be coherent is key.

For that reason alone, the Rikti War IS the prime movie candidate. It has quite a bit of pre-game backstory, and several in-game story arcs as well as a Task Force dedicated to it.

HOWEVER, artistic liscence shouldn't be ignored. I am entirely in favour of modifying the CoH lore, heavily if need be, to create a suitable movie. What I would personally love to see is a movie with Lord Recluse as the main baddy, mostly because I want to see big fight, acted or with CGI, between States and Reccy, and, I dunno, focus what it means to be a hero in a modern age or some philosophical stuff like that. We can work the details out later.

I suppose it would go similarly to what Blpup said: Have a montage of Marcus Cole's and Stefan Richter's life pre-super powers, y'know, WWI (maybe retcon to WWII to make Marcus seem more contemporary to the audience?), Marcus poisoned, finding the Well of Furies, etc etc.

Super-powered Marcus returns to Paragon City, a place ironically known for its debauchery, amoral nature and most of all, absurdly high crime rate. So, we'll spend a few scenes establishing that Paragon City just isn't a nice place to be in. Changed by his war experiences and his travels with Stefan and endowed with the power to actually make a difference, Marcus decides to become everything that Paragon City isn't: He becomes Statesman.

Of course, this means more montage time. Statesman cracks down on crime, setting an example for the people of Paragon City, and more and more people pick up their capes and make their home a better place. I don't know about the pre-WWII villain groups, but if we just set this after WWII, or even later, this is also the perfect opportunity for cameos of the game's Archvillains and even player heroes and villains.

Somewhere during or after the cracking-down-on-crime scenes, we'd establish that there's a new presence, Arachnos, but right now I'm not sure how. In fact, I'm absolutely uncertain about how the movie would progress after that. I'm just kinda stuck on the 'Statesman and Lord Recluse beat the crap out of each other' scene, and I just wanna build up to that. Maybe somehow include some of the plot of the Statesman Task Force? The whole Web thing? Well, I'll think about this later, but those are my thoughts on the matter so far.

Because of my undying respect for Dark_Respite I shall not immediately leap into a list of silly, non-sensical answers...

Ahem... The movie should be written as a Trilogy. The first movie should encompass the Well of the Furies only change it very slightly to make it appear that when they got their powers it opened the door for powers everywhere on the planet. Focus on Statesman and Recluse's rise but also bring in the world-wide adaptation to super beings in their midst.

Second movie reveals "Why" those powers were released. A mysterious being is revealled to have opened the Well. Hero and Villain conflicts are reaching a critical mass when the Rikti invasion happens. As respective leaders of their camps; Statesman and Recluse direct their sides to join forces against the common threat.

Final movie involves Hero 1's sacrifice and the end of the first major Rikti war. The world celebrates but not all is good between the Heroes and Villains. Though one might be tempted to end this on a "oh, we're all really good friends now" theme, it actually ends with a brawl between the major players hero and villain side. The battle is inconclusive; the villains retreat but are not destroyed. The final scene of the movie is Lord Recluse laying claim to the Rogue Isles and the President of the United States explaining to Statesman that politically they can do nothing.

Now that THAT little bit of ugliness is over with...

* City of Horror: Focus on the Zombie invasion! It's like every Zombie Apocalypse movie you've ever seen... but the survivors have super powers!

* City of Chick Flicks: A movie about how Manticore and Sister Psyche fell in love! It's a romantic comedy where Synapse plays the "dumb but endearing" friend and Swan turns in a supporting actress effort as the "sexy and distracting potential second love interest"...

* City of Sports Come-backs: The 5th Column has formed an evil, total-domination baseball team! A group of misfit superheroes, barely out of the tutorial, decide to stop them. The group of misfits try to harness their new (and sometimes faulty) superpowers and channel them into baseball and teamwork. Hilarity and heart warming camaradarie ensue until finally it all comes together at the last possible instant. The heroes win the pennant, the hearts of the baseball fans and many valuable lessons are learned.

* City of Space Operas: The evil Empire controls most of the Galaxy! It is up to a small band of rebels led by Luke Stateswalker, Princess Leiaberty, Han Synapse and Chewbaccalley Brawler to defeat the evil Darth Recluse and his Storm Spiders!

Well, *really* covering the Rikti war would be wide ranging - depending how far they wanted to go. After all, it ends up (unsurprisingly) dealing with Nemesis sending doubles over there, so at a *minimum* we've got Rikti (both factions,) Nemeisis, the Phalanx, misc. Longbow, Vanguard, and Ye Olde Heroe.

Alternately, there's the whole "Evil corporation" angle that can deal with Crey, including the "Frame the hero" bit (that pulls Malta out of the woodwork to hunt you for a while.) Done to keep people guessing - did you or didn't you - potentially with a nod towards the Naylor double arc (or just base it off of that to begin with.)

See my Guides and Tutorials

The Web of Arachnos novel could be turned into a very good film, perhaps also The Freedom Phalanx as a sequel, ending with The Rikti War from the point of view of a handful of rookie Heroes (to get away from Statesman and co).

On the subject of canon vs 'artistic license'.. No, leave it be or you shall meet the end of my pointy fork. Grr. *poke*

*poke poke*

Please, no more origin stories. I hate to sound like a meat-head, but I would like to see more action than set-up out of a superhero movie.

I’d rather see a movie that more closely mirrors my experience as a relatively fresh hero, and I think audiences would like that, too. It’s a little hard to explain, but it would be like the movie The 13th Warrior. The main character isn’t actually the main hero, and that makes it pretty darn intriguing.

Focus on a small, up-and-coming Super-Group during the Rikti War, and their struggle to make their mark, save the day, and still be people. I’m ready for a superhero movie to touch my heart, and get it racing at the same time. Some have accomplished this expertly, and boy did I love it.

I think they should follow a new character (hero) through their introduction to the city, with history and lore sprinkled in the background to simulate a players experience.

Well any movie has to have either The 5th or Council in it. These are the only 2 factions that have vampires, and as vampires are all the rage now. You can not make a movie that does not have them.

The Rikti War is the obvious candidate for it, yes. Superheroes versus aliens. Rarely seen on screen, common in comics. I think it should focus on the Phalanx, mostly, but the viewpoint character shouldn't only be Statesman. Too stoic and boring. I think this movie should have an ensemble cast. Focus on both the city and its citizens and its heroes. End it with the Alpha/Omega gambit and leave Hero 1's fate unresolved, but the Rikti defeated. Like in the game.

If the movie is a success, have the sequel be pretty much the blue side of the game. The New Age of Heroes, maybe introducing Arachnos here. They're a good background foe, at least. Nemesis, too. You know, so he's set up for his grand reveal in the third movie, but the second should end with Recluse being defeated, not by the great heroes, but by the new underdog heroes. Like us player heroes. The Well of the Furies could be introduced here in flashback.

Third movie is the Rikti War Zone arc and the second Rikti War, with the cause of the war revealed and ending up in an everyone, Hero, Villain and Rikti against Nemesis, who finally got tangled up in his own plans once too many.

But the first movie should be able to stand alone. Superheroes versus aliens from another dimension. Easily a good plot for a summer popcorn blockbuster. If there are any more films, then go to Praetoria. That should give enoough material for several movies, and will be a nice nod to Going Rogue.

I'm much more intrigued by the fact that the game's best movie-maker posted this question, and what that might lead to, than by the minor details of the answers.

I think the movie should be all CG. The movie should have a short intro showing the Well of Furies and Pandora's box and the rise of Statesman and Recluse, but should move quickly to just before the Rikti invasion and focus more on Warwitch, Apex, and Horus and as they become superheroes. The Rikti invade and we see, not only how the Phalanx deal with it, but see more the lost of life on a ground-level through the eyes of our three street-level heroes.

It should be directed by Uwe Boll and played as a double feature night on Sci-Fi next to Rock Monster.

Take a leaf from the Blue King Comics. Apex and War Witch.

Or the Freedom Phalanx novel.

If it were me, and this were made within a relatively quick timeframe (but with a massive budget to ensure it was done properly), I'd have it cover THE COMING STORM.

And then tie a major release of the game with the release of the movie.

But hey, that'd only be marketing genius.

Work with me here, but I actually think that if this were to be told, I'd want it to be a two part movie.
The first of which is the early years of Paragon City. Give a brief back story of The Well of the Furies and Statesman/Recluses thing, but leave Recluse fairly vague except for the standard fight scene which would have to happen to show their respective changes of heart. Then end the movie with what in lore is a big turning point of superhero affairs, Nemesis's Attack known as Brass Monday. Explain a bit (Maybe through Nemesis bragging Doctor Doom style, his origin) Then his defeat and escape, leading up to him calling for revenge leading to him hinting about the Rikti War.

Part two is a flash forward to some minor league heroes and and first Rikti War invasion. Keep The Surviving Eight in there as side note characters , have States pull a Independence Day-style speech And fight off a majority of the Invasion ( For a nice Movie style blow up, show him taking down the Rikti Spaceship that is now in the War Zone.) And while he is doing that, the other heroes essentially follow the War Zone storyline down into the final fight with Nemesis and Hro'. Our minor league heroes then get the passing the Torch speech from the Eight and at that point is where we reintroduce Stefan Aka Lord Recluse in what will probably considered a new threat to be fought in a hopefully new movie.

Now I know I'm going to get a lot of slack about using Nemesis instead of Lord Recluse as a main villain but Nemesis is really a lot more important in lore and deed than Recluse as far as backstories go. If we were to do an Origin bit about Paragon City and not just "Statesman: The Movie" I think it would be a better fit. Also I know I pretty much cut out the entire thing about the Vanguard but there honestly wouldn't be enough time in a movie to explain it without suffering from Mortal Combat II syndrome.

My origin story would make a great movie.

Think the first half of Hancock with 50% less drinking and 100% less pants.