Most of Warner Bros/DC Comics television prospects right now are connected and – since Man of Steel – they've made an effort to connect their film universe as well. That's why one film not existing in that universe is so surprising, though I'm not sure whether to be disappointed or excited by this latest reveal.
While Booster Gold appeared on Smallville years ago (played by Eric Martsolf), a live-action project featuring just him hasn't been able to happen even though there's a lot of story potential. Booster (aka Michael Jon Carter) was created by Dan Jurgens in the '80s and hails from the 25th century. He's a regular guy. He was a star athlete who lost it all when he started betting on his own games and losing on purpose. Disgraced, he wound up with an overnight gig watching a museum where, along with a security robot named Skeets, he steals “old” tech and travels back in time to play superhero as Booster Gold.
Except, he's kind of a jerk and uses his newfound “powers” to promote himself like a reality star and become rich. That robot that followed him along for the ride is one of the best characters in the DCU, by the way, and feeds him headlines from the future so he can save the day. Most of the DC universe considers him a joke, as did comic readers. Until he had his day to shine under DC Comics' 52 title, and following solo series by Geoff Johns (now in charge of spearheading DC's film slate), where he used time travel to help right the wrongs of the messed up DCU continuity and more.
While he went on to become a much more respected hero, Booster Gold technically wasn't allowed to tell anyone about his exploits, becoming “The greatest hero you've never heard of!” He even has a fantastic episode devoted to him in the Justice League Unlimited animated series called “The Greatest Story Never Told.”
In 2011, Syfy was interested in a pilot from Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti (of DCTV fame) and in 2013 it looked like David S. Goyer was trying to usher it to the big screen. Just this past May Berlanti confirmed a Booster Gold movie was in the works at Warner Bros., telling The Hollywood Reporter, “I'm attached to a few films [at Warner Bros.] now, and one, Booster Gold, is a DC property. Zack Stentz, who wrote an episode of Flash last year, just got the job, so he's writing the script now. I'd probably direct that, or I would want to.”
Awesome news, right? Can you just imagine a character like Booster having a chat with Ben Affleck's Batman or, better yet, Jason Momoa's Aquaman? Well, looks like that's only a dream. The latest news comes via an interview Berlanti did with Vulture:
“As of right now we have no connective tissue to those worlds,” Berlanti said when asked if the movie would be part of the DC Extended Universe that already includes Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad (with Wonder Woman and Justice League following in 2017). “It'd be a separate thing.” He also said the project emerged from a long-dead Booster Gold TV show idea he was working on with longtime producing collaborator Andrew Kreisberg that “never got off the ground.”
Granted, he says “as of right now,” so this very well could change but if not, it will be the first DC film in WB's line not to connect with their overall universe (we're still waiting to hear on Shazam!). While I enjoy both connected universe stories and standalone options (it's why I agreed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt about the ending of The Dark Knight Rises) I'm surprised to hear Booster might not be connected.
Though perhaps that's for the best. While Booster's personality was always at odds with other DC characters, it would be really at odds with the current characters. Unless Justice League lightens things up considerably. While Booster could certainly stand on its own, a lot of the fun of his tale is how other heroes react to him and if his film isn't connected I doubt WB is going to cast another Superman or Wonder Woman just to appear in his solo film. Perhaps they could take notes from the DC TV universe which is lightly connected and works pretty well that way.
What do you think? Should Booster Gold be a part of the DC movie universe at large or would he work better completely disconnected? Of course, a Booster Gold/Blue Beetle movie in the style of Marvel's Ant-Man would be awfully tempting. Especially if someone like Edgar Wright got a shot at it…