it seems that with superhero movies, like so much else, indie film is stepping up to fill the void where mainstream studio movies and TV shows can’t quite get new content moving out the door yet. Wild Eye Releasing has provided ComicBook.com with an exclusive first look at the trailer for their upcoming film Monster Force Zero, in qhich a group of sci-fi cosplayers are gifted powers and get their chance to be real heroes. If the premise sounds a bit like Galaxy Quest, that’s fair — but it’s maybe a little more heavy on the genre side of things than the comedy side.
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if you haven’t heard of Wild Eye Releasing, they specialize in movies that straddle that boundary. Memorable releases from the studio include Sharkenstein, Showgirls 2, and VelociPastor, the latter of which has a sequel in development now.
With the increase in popularity for superhero projects, it’s no surprise that independent studios would try to ape the formula in order to make some mini-blockbusters of their own. the big problem in the past has been the most of the identifiable superheroes have been wrapped up at DC and Marvel’s production partners, but in the same way that the post-Watchmen comics community opened up for new superheroes to gain some prominence by experimenting with old tropes, the glut of superhero content in Hollywood has likely given casual viewers enough context for some esoteric, “geekier” stories to come to the screen and still resonate with a bigger audience.
There is also now a visual shorthand; when you look at some of the powers in this trailer, they look like things that are familiar, and so without needing to know who the characters are, everything is pretty clear.
You can check out the studio’s official synopsis for Monster Force Zero below.
In director Nathan Letteer’s Monster Force Zero, “a group of sci-fi cosplayers get their shot to be real superheroes. Featuring genre favorite Garret Wang (”Star Trek: Voyager”), WWE and WCW wrestling legend Pat Tanaka, and sci-fi staple Heath C. Heine (Jurassic Thunder, Dragon Soldiers), the action-packed sci-fi jaunt will be available On Demand this October from Wild Eye Releasing. After their comic book dreams are crushed, a group of sci-fi cosplayers are granted superpowers and are transported into the multiverse to do real battle with evil alien forces bent on earth’s destruction.”
You can see the movie this October on video on demand platforms.
