[UPDATE: Greg Berlanti has confirmed the Booster Gold movie story.]
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Look out, Suicide Squad: the DC Extended Universe may have another offbeat, unlikely hero coming to the big screen before long. That's according to new reports claiming that inside WB, one of the chief architects of DC's successful TV universe is (or has been) hard at work getting a fan-favorite hero to the screen - after years of trying. It's been a long time, but Booster Gold may be closer than ever to joining DC's live-action roster.
Not only that, but the project is being developed by Greg Berlanti - executive producer of Arrow and The Flash - with the possibility that he may direct. The project may still be in the early stages of development, but with screenwriter Zack Stentz (Thor, X-Men: First Class) handling script duties, the odds of seeing the character's lighter, zanier tone adapted whole cloth seems high.
The news isn't exactly a shock to those following the character, as Berlanti, Kreisberg, and others in his inner circle have unveiled most of the mystery surrounding their planned Booster Gold series for Syfy, which was eventually sidelined and overshadowed by the success of more well-known heroes (despite a memorable introduction to the character on The CW's Smallville). But when Stentz appeared on the most recent instalment of Kevin Smith's Fatman on Batman podcast to discuss his episode of The Flash (directed by Smith), his mention of a mystery project with Greg Berlanti suggested Booster Gold was back in the works:
"Interestingly enough, I was working with Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Sarah Schechter - the amazing trio that make that amazing machine run - and we were working on a different project that I'm not really allowed to talk about right now.
"Greg was becoming a new dad, which was amazing, but he was taking a little time off. So we had this gap in the amount of time that we were working on it. And Andrew came up to me and said 'well, we don't want you to be bored, so you want to write a Flash episode for us?'"
Unfortunately, no mention of any character is given, and at first glance, a TV show/spin-off might be the most obvious answer, considering Berlanti's ongoing swarm of DC Comics programming. But soon after the episode released, Devin Faraci of BMD confirmed that he had heard the same rumblings: a Booster Gold movie was being developed with Stentz as writer, and Berlanti possibly planning to direct (having spent so many years trying to adapt the character to the small screen, he's probably more familiar with the character than anyone at this point).
And just like that, everyone's favorite athlete-turned-security-guard-turned-superhero is back in the discussion for DC's movie universe. The bad news: it doesn't sound like his long time ally Blue Beetle will be making the leap with him (but that, as everything else, is subject to change). Of course, given how many stalls in progress are actually stated by Stentz, fans shouldn't hold their breath.
For starters, a Booster Gold property will always be a risky proposition, and the bigger the scale, the bigger the risk. Warner Bros. is obviously not afraid of uncertain entries in the DCEU (Aquaman and Shazam come to mind), but with Suicide Squad showing promise for being blockbuster superhero counter-programming, and Batman V Superman adding time travel to the core DCEU mythology, having a wannabe superhero travel back in time to when the Justice League first formed isn't a hard story to envision.
Still, it's best to wait and see. Now that online blogs and fan sites are calling Batman V Superman a disaster, any rumor claiming DC or Warner Bros. are reacting with unconventional, comedic projects will be lent more weight than it would have just months ago. With The Flash and Shazam bringing fantasy and adventure to the DCEU, a man like Booster Gold may not be too far behind.
So what do you think of the rumor? Does Booster Gold seem like a wise move for the DCEU, and if so, are Stentz and Berlanti the best ones to bring it to life? Sound off in the comments, and stay tuned as the story develops.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is now playing in U.S. theaters. Suicide Squad will arrive on August 5, 2016, followed by Wonder Woman on June 2, 2017; Justice League Part One on November 17, 2017; The Flash on March 16, 2018; Aquaman on July 27, 2018; an untitled DC Film on October 5, 2018; Shazam on April 5, 2019; Justice League Part Two on June 14, 2019; an untitled DC film on November 1, 2019; Cyborg on April 3, 2020; and Green Lantern Corps on July 24, 2020.
Source: Fatman on Batman, Birth.Movies.Death.