3 movies that should’ve been HBO shows
When Watchmen made it to the big screen in 2009, it largely divided audiences. People were generally blown away by director Zack Snyder’s visuals and the story remained mostly faithful to the original graphic novel. Given the source material’s length and depth, though, it was perhaps impossible for a movie to completely get it right, even with a multiple extended versions. In retrospect, Watchmen might’ve worked better as a television series, although TV wasn’t the juggernaut it is today back then.
Of course now that people are finally starting to see the small screen’s potential, many stories that would prove too lengthy for a two-hour movie have been getting the TV treatment. Considering the success of Game of Thrones, HBO seemed like the perfect home for a Watchmen series. Now that HBO has ordered a Watchmen pilot from Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers), we may see the definitive adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ magnum opus. With that in mind, here are three more movies that would’ve been better suited for HBO.
The Dark Tower
Often regarded as Stephen King’s best work, The Dark Tower series consists of eight novels, not to mention several tie-in books and comics. So why is the film adaptation only 95 minutes long when there’s a plethora of material waiting to be adapted? To give the 2017 movie credit, the casting was inspired with Idris Elba as the Gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black. The movie isn’t even really about them, though, putting more emphasis on Tom Taylor as Jake Chambers. You get the sense that Sony just wanted a young adult franchise in the same vein as The Hunger Games or Divergent. Where Sony is always five years behind what’s cool, HBO is always five years ahead. The Dark Tower seems well tailored for the network, especially if it amounts to a Westworld crossover.
Warcraft
With most video game adaptations, you get the sense that the filmmakers never even played the original game. In Warcraft’s defense, the movie at least looked like the source material and much of the franchise’s lore is worked in. Alas, I’ve never seen an adaption try to pack so much into just 120 minutes. The film juggles so many characters and plotlines that the experience feels like jamming for a test. You could have entire movie about just one clan, but this movie shoves an entire world down our throats without giving us any time to connect with anyone. Imagine binging all the MCU movies at the exact same time. While a Warcraft cinematic universe appears out of the question, HBO could still give us the adaption we deserve. Seeing how Game of Thrones only has one more season left, they could use something to fill the void.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
The bottom line, HBO should just remake all of Zack Snyder’s movies. This 2016 film essentially combined Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and The Death of Superman storyline into one colossal mess that made no sense whatsoever. These two DC comics deserve justice and HBO just might be the hero they need. Couldn’t you see either of them working as a limited series? They wouldn’t even have to be connected to the DC Extended Universe, as live-action shows like Arrow and The Flash exist in their own world. Netflix has already proven that dark, gritty superhero shows can be done right with Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Now it’s time for HBO to do the same for the Dark Knight and Man of Steel.