I'm A Booster Gold Fan, Here's Why I'm Concerned About DC Bringing Him To Television
James Gunn and Peter Safran have a vision for the future of DC movies and television, and Booster Gold is in those plans. I guess that makes sense seeing as the character is literally from the future, and believe me, the fan in me is absolutely psyched at the idea of a Booster Gold series. As a fan, though, I feel it's my obligation to acknowledge that making a successful series for this DC hero is no easy task, as hard as that may be to admit.
Booster Gold may just be one of my favorite characters in the DC universe, but making him the star of the next great superhero television show will be a challenge. Let's break down some of the key things this series has going against it from the jump, and how this could impact the series from having a long run.
Booster Gold Already Has Television Experience, But Not As A Lead
Booster Gold isn't the most prolific character in pop culture, but he has had a few appearances in DC live-action shows over the years. Eric Martsolf portrayed the character in Smallville, and Donald Faison popped up as him in the final episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow. Both times, Booster appeared in a supporting role, and both performances were pretty memorable.
Those are supporting roles, though, and this upcoming project is something different. Booster Gold can be a lead character, otherwise he wouldn't have a standalone comic in the DC Comics lineup. There are quality Booster Gold stories out there to adapt, and he's well enough ingrained in the DC lore to set up some truly cool stories tied to his knowledge of the future and need for celebrity status and validation.
And for what it's worth, this isn't the first attempt to bring a Booster Gold project to fans. Geoff Johns teased in 2016 the character was headed to the big screen, and screenwriter Zack Stentz was once attached to make a movie. Nathan Fillion has also had to brush off pleas to be Booster Gold over the years, and yet here we are in 2023 still waiting on a project. If it were that easy to do, we would've seen it already, which has me wary this television project will even happen.
Booster Gold Adventures Are Heavily Reliant On Other DC Characters
When I think of my favorite Booster Gold adventures, I can't help but realize how many of them include key members of the Justice League or the villains they regularly fight. While this is awesome in the scope of DC Comics and works really well, it can be a bit problematic for a DC television series. Outside of his sidekick Skeets, the Booster Gold franchise doesn't have a ton of original characters besides its title hero.
Readers who've followed DC TV for the past decade may be aware of how difficult it can be for a DC television series to get a ton of notable characters in its franchise. DC seemingly barred certain characters like Batman from appearing on television for Arrowverse shows, which has forced showrunners to get creative with how to present popular characters. It's also led to the creation of many original characters outside of DC lore, such as John Diggle and Harrison Wells.
Booster Gold could definitely create its own original characters, but who knows how longtime fans will respond to that? Perhaps, though, in this new era where James Gunn is proposing that multiple iterations of Batman will exist in the film world, DC will loosen the reigns on its flagship characters appearing in shows. That would certainly benefit a Booster Gold project, but we'll have to wait and see if it actually happens.
Booster Gold Is Entering A Crowded Superhero Television Genre With Little To Separate Him From The Pack
As excited as I am to see Booster Gold get a chance to enter the television space, DC couldn't have picked a less opportune time to do it. The superhero show market is saturated as it is, and it takes a special something beyond being a show with special effects to draw eyeballs these days. Booster Gold will need to bring something big to the table, which might go against the very essence of the character.
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Booster Gold is not the strongest, smartest, bravest or even most durable of DC heroes. One could make a case he's in the running for one of the most humorous, but I'd say the rise of Harley Quinn and Deadpool in pop culture has even jeopardized that niche for him in television. It's going to be rough out here to justify this series to people who haven't been waiting on the hero's arrival for years.
One thing that Booster Gold does excel at is having "heart," and showcasing it allows the proper build of a story that really highlights it. You can't really start out a Booster Gold series immediately pointing to the amount of heart he has, and it wouldn't be in the spirit of the character to do so. Booster Gold is very much someone who is obsessed with fame and popularity, and perhaps not even he is as aware of his greatest strength as a hero.
As I mentioned earlier, if it were easy to make a Booster Gold series, someone might've already made one. Of course, the difficulty in making a successful series shouldn't stop DC from trying, especially in this brave new era where we'll get a new Superman and many other things. Maybe, in the spirit of this new era, viewers will be willing to give more things a shot, and we'll see a sharp increase in the members joining the Booster Gold fan club. If they don't, this may end up as a sequel to the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Greatest Story Never Told," which would be a real bummer.
The Booster Gold series was announced, but we don't really have more details about it beyond that. Unfortunately, I'm not from the future, so I can't confirm that it aired and was a massive success, but as more updates continue to pour in about it and the future of the DC Universe, CinemaBlend will keep readers informed.
