The iconic actor that portrayed Superman in numerous movies, Christopher Reeve’s children disclosed in an interview with Variety that they never watched the exploitative AI “cameo” of Christopher Reeve as Superman that Warner Brothers inserted in The Flash 2023 movie.
The Flash stands as one of the most significant financial setbacks in the history of DC Extended Universe (DCEU) superhero films. DC, having faced a series of recent box office disappointments, experienced a substantial blow with The Flash. The speedy superhero blockbuster has earned the dubious distinction of being labelled one of the most severe flops in Warner Brothers studio history and is considered among the biggest disasters to hit Hollywood.
RELATED: The Dark Herald: RE: Animation – Superman (1940) And Its Cultural Appeal
With high expectations for success, DC invested heavily in the development of The Flash, allocating a production budget of $200 million and an additional substantial marketing budget of $200 million. The film needed to generate significant revenue to reach the break-even point. However, The Flash fell short, grossing only $268.53 million worldwide, with $108.13 million from domestic markets and $160.4 million from international territories.
This performance placed it just above the M-She-U’s The Incredible Hulk and The Marvels. Even with its release on Max streaming, The Flash encountered challenges in attracting viewers, with only 1.1 million U.S. households tuning in during its initial three days.
Warner Brothers’ treatment of Christopher Reeve, the late actor who portrayed Superman, has previously sparked controversy and outrage. The studio employed AI art to insert Christopher Reeve as Superman into The Flash, a move perceived as disrespectful given the tragic circumstances of his death. This exploitation of AI technology drew heavy criticism at the time. It raised the alarm bells about the quality of superhero movies if studio needed to resort to cheap exploitative gimmicks to attract fans.
In a bizarre and alarming attempt at damage control Warner Brothers tried to conceal this controversial move by actively issuing copyright claims against individuals sharing the AI-generated images on social media. To make things worse the AI rendition of Christopher Reeve’s Superman was low-quality and disastrous. The media picked up on the controversy, with outlets condemning The Flash‘s cameo as everything wrong with superhero movies in 2023.
In an interview with Variety Christopher Reeve’s children were asked about their sentiments regarding their father’s portrayal in Warner Brothers’ major comic book film, The Flash, released last year. Even though they love finding and watching movies, documentaries and other footage of their father, none of Reeve’s children had viewed The Flash, and they were not consulted or partook in any capacity in the creation of that specific cameo.
Let us know in the comments what you think about Warner Brothers’ gimmicky AI cameo of Christopher Reeve.
Leave a Reply