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Moviegoers have been wowed by films featuring superheroes for decades. Widely considered the first superhero movie, The Mark of Zorro first appeared on big screens in 1920 and was remade several times.
A host of shorter length serial films followed in the 1930s and 40s featuring well-known comic characters such as Flash Gordon, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Batman and Superman, but none of these was considered movies in the true sense.
The first feature-length film based specifically on a comic book character was Superman and the Mole Men (1951). This 58-minute feature starred George Reeves as the caped hero. The film reappeared as a two-part pilot for the TV series Adventures of Superman.
Fans of the genre had to wait until 1966 for the next big release, Batman: The Movie. But since then, they have been treated to regular instalments of superhero action that has resulted in the congested schedule we have seen in the last 20 years.
(Zorro image source: Prayitnophotography on Flickr)
Films about ancient mythology gained traction much earlier than superhero pictures. Homer’s Odyssey was first adapted for the screen by an Italian film company in 1911 in the form of a 44-minute short. By the 1950s, Kirk Douglas had starred in a version of Ulysses while Rossana Podestà wowed as Helen of Troy. And by the 1960s, films such as Jason and the Argonauts and The Trojan Horse proved hugely popular at the box office.
The popularity of the genre remained strong until the 1980s, but the rise of the superhero movie saw the production of ancient mythology flicks dwindle. Over the last 15 years there have been notable efforts to revive the genre’s popularity through films such as Troy (2004) and Immortals (2011), and remakes of classics such as Clash of the Titans (2010) and Hercules (2014). However, they have been unable to match superhero movies at the box office.
In the gaming world, however, mythology retains a strong presence, with titles such as Rise of Olympus, Hall of Gods and the Golden Owl of Athena being big hits at top gaming sites such as Duelz. This is one area where ancient mythology still competes with superhero titles.
The superhero and mythology genres have even crossed over thanks to Norse God Thor’s status as a Marvel comic book character and founding member of the Avengers. The Avengers movie franchise has proved to be one of the most successful of all time, raking in tens of billions of dollars.
With superhero movies set to reach saturation point in 2018 and the DC franchise struggling for the kind of continuity enjoyed by their Marvel counterparts, now could be a good time to bring ancient mythology back to the big screens. Jason and the Argonauts: The Kingdom of Hades is currently in development. Ovid and the Art of Love, currently in post-production, is a modern retelling of the tale of the Ancient Roman poet. But aside from those upcoming titles, fans of big screen mythology might have to wait for the next Thor or Avengers movie to get their next measure of mythological magic.
(Thor: The Dark World image source: The_JIFF on Flickr