Oh, I’m not trying to dispute the argument that Disney’s constant attempts to pat themselves on the back is lame, and I don’t have any real interest or faith in this movie in general. I just don’t see why people are getting so mad at Rachel Zegler in particular.
Early reactions for DC movies from the past five to six years have almost always said that (“Best DC Movie since TDK!). It’s become a meme at this point.
That’s why it’s important that studios keep the copies in print, and continue updating them with newer formats. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than just hoping Bob Iger or David Zaslav don’t pull something from their streaming services for a tax write-off.
So people are mad at Rachel Zegler because she said that a movie from 1937 might not have aged well by modern societal standards? Is that really a spicy take now?
We do not need to go back to shows with 20 episode seasons. 13 episodes should be the absolute limit.
It sure would be nice if physical media made a comeback though. It’s the safest way of ensuring that a show or movie doesn’t become lost media. Plus, the bonus features are always nice.
Again, I didn’t say the movie would’ve suddenly become a billion dollar hit with Zendaya. I’m just saying that if stunt casting was their goal, they could’ve easily picked a bigger name than Halle Bailey.
Zendaya is big among the Gen Z crowd, and has headlined a very popular show on HBO, on top of being known as Spider-Man’s girlfriend. We have no way of knowing how the box office would’ve fared if they got someone like her, but if their goal was stunt casting, she would’ve made more sense than Halle Bailey.
I would consider Emma Watson in BatB stunt casting, not so much Halle Bailey in TLM. Even if Disney’s mindset was that they would get “woke points” by making Ariel black, they could’ve easily cast someone like Zendaya.
I think the big problem with TLM is that it may have come out a bit too late. The hype for Disney’s live action remakes peaked in 2019, and the original is over 30 years old at this point. As we’ve seen from Indiana Jones and Flash, 80s/early 90s nostalgia doesn’t seem to be as big as it was in the late 2010s.