The comic book movies of theMCU, theDCU, and beyond have occasionally been known to damage the careers of their directors. Before the beginning of theMCU’s movie timelinehelped establish superhero cinema as a dominant force at the box office, comic book movies were often considered especially risky endeavors. Even in the years since, there have been notable missteps in the genre, resulting in films that fail to earn their directors any plaudits.
When comic book movies can’t replicate the success of themovies of the MCU, or otherwise fail to earn critical praise, it reflects poorly on its director. In certain cases, this actually significantly impacts their career, harming their prospects moving forward. In these cases, it would seem that superhero movies have the potential to be just as damaging as they can be successful. With that in mind, here are 10 superhero movies that damaged directors’ careers.
10Catwoman (2004)
Director: Pitof
As one of the most infamouscomic book movie box office flops, 2004’sCatwomanearned itself a place in cinematic history for all the wrong reasons. The Halle Berry-led DC movie was released amid a slew of early ‘00s superhero flicks, as the genre was gaining considerable traction both at the box office and in the public consciousness.Catwomanproved to be one of the worst entries ever released in the superhero genre, earning the ire of fans and critics alike.
Catwomanwas director Pitof’s English-language debut, though he had only one French directorial credit to his name at the time. However, his experience working on major movies was extensive, as he had acted as second unit director forAlien Resurrection, and had served as a producer and visual effects supervisor on multiple notable releases. Even so,the disastrous reception ofCatwomanstalled Pitof’s directorial careeralmost as soon as it had begun.
9Batman & Robin (1997)
Director: Joel Schumacher
Looking back on director Joel Schumacher’s career, it’s surprising just how many great films he was involved in creating. That’s because the director’s name has become synonymous with notoriously disappointing movies:Schumacher’s Batman moviesare widely considered the worst in the character’s long cinematic tenure. The first, 1995’sBatman Forever, had some merit, though ultimately fell short of the mark. However, 1997’sBatman & Robinwas bad enough to damage Schumacher’s entire career.
In spite of a star-studded main cast comprised of George Clooney, Uma Thurman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alicia Silverstone, and Chris O’Donnell,Batman & Robinwas disastrous for Schumacher. Not only did the film receive critical panning, butit was considered an insult to the source material, failing to capture the complexity or depth of its characters. The poor reception toBatman & Robindid more than damage Schumacher’s career; it also negatively impacted the director’s otherwise impressive legacy of filmmaking.
8Hellboy (2019)
Director: Neil Marshall
AfterGuillermo del Toro’s moviesbrought Hellboy to life in such epic fashion, the character’s appearance in a 2019 reboot had a high bar to clear. The David Harbour-led movie introduced a slightly different take on the Dark Horse Comics character, and it was one that proved to be far below the standards of its predecessors. Neil Marshall was at the reins of the reboot, and the film’s underwhelming reception was a blow to his career.
Before 2019’sHellboy, Neil Marshall had a few notable credits to his name.Dog Soldiers,The Descent, andCenturionall earned Marshall a certain level of prominence, with the director becoming known for his respectable use of visual effects as well as his impressive knack for horror.Hellboysabotaged Marshall’s reputation, as one of its most criticized elements was its unimpressive visual effects. As a result, Marshall’s status as something of a cult director was seemingly revoked overnight.
7Judge Dredd (1995)
Director: Danny Cannon
Though Judge Dredd is a prominent figure in pop culture, the character’s cinematic track record is undeservedly poor. The first attempt to adapt Dredd’s story in live-action was 1995’sJudge Dredd, a release that was bolstered by the casting of Sylvester Stallone as the titular lawman. Fans of the comics balked, and even general audiences found the movie unappealing, leading to a disastrous reception that hurt the career of director Danny Cannon.
At the time, Cannon was a promising up-and-coming director who was offeredJudge Dreddas his second feature film.The film’s poor critical reception and box office disappointment set Cannon’s career back considerably, and he largely stepped away from directing movies afterward. Though he has gone on to have an impressive career in TV direction and production, 1995’sJudge Dreddhurt Danny Cannon’s career in a major way.
6Fantastic Four (2015)
Director: Josh Trank
Long before theMCU’s Fantastic Four, the team were featured in other movie adaptations. After two less-than-stellar movies in 2005 and 2007, the Marvel heroes were rebooted on the big screen in 2015’sFantastic Four, directed by Josh Trank. The movie was considered the director’s big break, and his first foray into big-budget film-making after the success of his acclaimed low-budget superhero movie,Chronicle.
Considering the massive success and acclaim earned byChronicle, the hype surrounding Josh Trank’sFantastic Fourwas significant. However, the film was met with negative reviews and a big office failure, becoming a financial disaster and severely damaging Trank’s fledgling career.AfterFantastic Four’s failure, Trank took a five-year hiatus from film-making, further evidencing how much the movie impacted him, though he asserted that many issues stemmed from studio interference rather than his own missteps.
5Jonah Hex (2010)
Director: Jimmy Hayward
Even before the beginning of theDCEU’s movie timeline, modern DC adaptations were considered hit-and-miss. Much like the franchise, the movies that preceded it were inconsistent in quality: even while Christopher Nolan’s then-ongoingDark Knighttrilogy was earning critical acclaim, 2010 saw the release ofJonah Hex. The supernatural comic book Western boasted a stellar cast, but critical panning led to the film having a negative impact on director Jimmy Hayward’s career.
BeforeJonah Hex, Hayward served as an animator on several notable movies, includingToy Story,Monsters, Inc., andFinding Nemo. His major directorial debut came withHorton Hears a Who!, and its success secured himJonah Hex, his first live-action feature film.The issues with the movie are well-documented and led even its stars to disown the film, and Hayward’s directorial career all but ended as a result.
4Elektra (2005)
Director: Rob Bowman
Though 2003’sDaredevilremains one of Marvel’s most memorable cinematic disappointments, the film’s 2005 spin-off,Elektra, is widely hailed as one of the worst movies of all time. With Jennifer Garner reprising the titular role after her appearance in Daredevil,Elektrabrought the story of the Marvel character to life in her first solo live-action movie. The movie was considered both a critical and commercial failure, thereby damaging the career of its director, Rob Bowman.
BeforeElektra, Bowman had honed his craft in TV, working on many notable shows. He went on to directThe X-Filesmovie andReign of Fire, both of which earned him some success.Elektracame along just as he was seemingly breaking through to become a major mainstream movie director, andits failure all but ended Bowman’s career in film. Bowman has since gone on to work on multiple successful TV shows, though he has yet to make another theatrical film afterElektra.
Director: David Ayer
David Ayer is another director who was afforded the opportunity to direct a comic book movie after receiving critical acclaim. After writing the screenplays for movies such asTraining DayandThe Fast and the Furious, Ayer began his career as a director. 2012’sEnd of Watchearned Ayer considerable attention, and was nominated for multiple awards. These credentials saw him handed the reins of the DCEU’sSuicide Squadin 2016.
The movie was met with largely underwhelming reviews and continued a worrying trend in the early days of the DCEU. Despite box office success, the reactions toSuicide Squadwere largely negative, and Ayer’s career suffered as a result, though the director has since stated his initial vision for the movie was considerably changed by external forces before its release.His directorial prospects seemingly dried up afterSuicide Squad, considerably setting back the career of one of the most promising directors of the time after a single divisive release.
2The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
Director: Stephen Norrington
2003’sThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemenwas based on the comics created by British comic book royalty Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill. The film adapted the story of the titular League, comprising notable figures from throughout literary history into a single team of supernatural heroes. With a star-studded cast led by Sean Connery, director Stephen Norrington seemed an excellent choice after his success directing 1997’sBlade.
Despite Norrington having comic book movie experience, the film was not well-received by critics. While it earned a reasonable sum at the box office,The League of Extraordinary Gentlemenwas considered a failure, and marked both the last film appearance of Sean Connery and seemingly the end of Norrington’s directorial career. On-set tensions reportedly exacerbated matters, but the poor reception toThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemenappears to have significantly impacted Stephen Norrington’s career for the worse.
1Green Lantern (2011)
Director: Martin Campbell
By the time he was set to direct 2011’sGreen Lantern, Martin Campbell had already achieved much in his film-making career. Notable movies made by Campbell include 1995’sGoldenEye, 1998’sThe Mask of Zorro, and its 2005 sequel,The Legend of Zorro. Having achieved critical and commercial success with multiple major releases, Campbell’s ability to direct Green Lantern’s live-action movie debut seemed unquestionable, especially coming as it did after many years of tackling various different types of action in his movies.
The reactions toGreen Lanternwere less than ideal, and the film was instantly marked a failure. Its underperformance at the box office was overshadowed by the overwhelmingly negative reception to the film, makingGreen Lanterna particular dark moment in the character’s history. Martin Campbell’s career as a director slowed considerably after the release of the film, and he has yet to direct another high-profile release. It’s a stark example of how the comic book movies of theMCU, theDCU, and beyond can ultimately damage a director’s career.
DC Universe
The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Cast
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a 2003 action-adventure film directed by Stephen Norrington. Based on the comic series by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, the movie features a team of legendary figures, including Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery), Captain Nemo, and Dr. Jekyll. These characters join forces to thwart a plot that threatens world stability. The ensemble cast also includes Stuart Townsend, Peta Wilson, and Tony Curran.
