BvS DC Extended Universe or DC Films? Which is the official universe name?

[jokesonm3]

who cares?

Ask the OP, Gifford.

 

[The_Manhunter]

DC Films = Marvel Studios
DCEU = MCU

This.

 

[rogbngp]

As I interpret DCEU, "extended universe" refers to both the cinematic and TV continuities. Even though I have done it, it has never made sense to me to refer the film universe alone by using the term for both TV and film together.

 

[rogbngp]

DC Films = Marvel Studios
DCEU = MCU

Hmm. Yeah, that seems right. I guess DC Films is just the studio's name.

 

[Fallen Angel]

DC Films isn't it's own entity. So therefore DC Films isn't the equivalent of Marvel Studios.

 

[jokesonm3]

Would be awesome though if DC and Warner Bros make a new subsidiary titled DC Films in charge of all of the DCEU's films like Marvel Studios.

 

[BlueLanternKal]

Would be awesome though if DC and Warner Bros make a new subsidiary titled DC Films in charge of all of the DCEU's films like Marvel Studios.

I'd buy shares if that were the case.

 

[rogbngp]

DC Films isn't it's own entity. So therefore DC Films isn't the equivalent of Marvel Studios.

I'm so confused now!

 

[Fallen Angel]

I'm so confused now!

There is no "DC Films" as it's own subsidiary company unlike Marvel Studios who sole purpose is to make the MCU films but are owned by Disney. DC films are still made under Time Warner/WB umbrella.

 

[Mainline]

I ask because DC Extended Universe was trademarked and various magazines and websites refer to the DC films in development as the DCEU, but that new DC special was called DC Films Presents and the newly official DC movie page is called DC Films.

It was never actually trademarked. You can do a TESS search. The journalist added it to give the name an air of authority when it has never been on a single Warner Brothers product, never been directly uttered by a single brain trust member in quotes, has never been promoted or pushed by the WB, and simply isn't official. Some fans latched on to it too early and now won't let go despite all evidence to the contrary.

Does it need an official universe name?

No, but it's useful to control your branding and licensing, especially if you have similar products. The WB also has the Arrow-Flash continuity, so "Justice League Universe" separates it from: a) non-film TV products; and b) non-continuity DC movies like Sandman.

The X-Men film universe has nothing to separate itself from so it doesn't need a name.

When was DCEU confirmed?

Never. You will not find a single WB press release, official WB product, repeated quotes from braintrust mouths, a single dollar spent pushing "extended", or even one-iota of effort to claim "extended" on social media by Warner Brothers.

However, "DC Films" and "Justice League Universe" are in a press release, on official WB products, come directly from Roven and Johns, cost at least a million dollars to put that message out, and the WB has claimed sites tied to the two.

We do not know either way whether "DC Films" is an entity or not. Corporate restructuring is second-nature to the WB at this point (they restructured for DC Entertainment, before Tsujihara, and again once he became CEO). Even if it isn't a legal entity, it still acts as branding for the braintrust that's overseeing the cinematic exploitation of DC intellectual property. Literally being a subsidiary studio within WB is kind of irrelevant at that point.

We don't know that "Justice League Universe" excludes Sandman or Shazam, but we do know that it includes everything talked about in the special- MOS, BvS, SS, WW, JL, Aquaman, Flash, & GLC. It is extremely convenient to have an official brand to talk about all the films common to that one continuity and since 8 out of 9 films (JL has two parts) are all Justice League films (and SS still takes place in the same continuity and features Batman with a Superman name drop), it's a completely reasonable name to use.

Lots of franchises never get to 9 films and still have a brand name for all the films... "Justice League Universe" makes sense for these 9 (11 if you count stand-alone Batman and Superman films).

Meanwhile, "extended" never made sense.

 

[Mainline]

I'd buy shares if that were the case.

You can't buy shares of Marvel Studios even though it is an entity.

Whether DC Films is or isn't an entity is largely irrelevant given how Warner Brothers Pictures works. Remember for Disney, they acquired Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. The separation has more to do with not screwing up what was already in-place and working.

The WB mostly does not buy studios to produce movies, it does that in-house. Having a separate entity would likely just increase corporate overhead, which they've been streamlining away. Put it this way, Tsujihara is way more hands on with Warner Brothers IP than Iger is at Disney.

 

[Tra-El]

I've been calling it the DCEU for awhile once Snyder kept referring to it as such.

 

[Flint Marko]

I've been calling it the DCEU for awhile once Snyder kept referring to it as such.

Yeah if Snyder is calling it the DCEU then it looks to be official.

Would be awesome though if DC and Warner Bros make a new subsidiary titled DC Films in charge of all of the DCEU's films like Marvel Studios.

Agreed.

 

[Clark-Kent]

I always took it as: DC films is just in reference to all movie aspects ONLY, where as DCEU encompasses literally everything including the tv realm and how that co-exists with films. So if only referencing upcoming movies like BvS, WW, etc.. DC films talk. If discussing Green Arrow, Supergirl, and relation to the film scope then it's more DCEU as we are talking such a further realm.

 

[rogbngp]

I always took it as: DC films is just in reference to all movie aspects ONLY, where as DCEU encompasses literally everything including the tv realm and how that co-exists with films. So if only referencing upcoming movies like BvS, WW, etc.. DC films talk. If discussing Green Arrow, Supergirl, and relation to the film scope then it's more DCEU as we are talking such a further realm.

That was my interpretation as well.

 

[rockandrollsoul]

DC Films isn't it's own entity. So therefore DC Films isn't the equivalent of Marvel Studios.

The way I look at it is DC Films is the brand and DCEU is the prodict line.

 

[Greens]

Lots of franchises never get to 9 films and still have a brand name for all the films... "Justice League Universe" makes sense for these 9 (11 if you count stand-alone Batman and Superman films).

Meanwhile, "extended" never made sense.

Cat's out of the bag. The public has decided that it's called the DCEU.

 

[KillerWolf]

who cares?

Apparently many of people do, for whatever reason....

The way I see it, as long as we all know what we're talking about, call it whatever you want, it's the only reason why we name things in the first place. So, DCEU, DC movie/film universe, DC films, "those Batman and Superman/DC heroes films"... it all works.

 

[Mainline]

I've been calling it the DCEU for awhile once Snyder kept referring to it as such.

You'll probably not be able to provide a citation of that since he never did.

 

[Fallen Angel]

You're making a big deal out of nothing. It doesn't frikin matter.

 

[Mainline]

Cat's out of the bag. The public has decided that it's called the DCEU.

Not really. The public doesn't care yet. You have a handful of fans who think they represent the entire public.

Ultimately, the WB will decide (and have decided) what it's called by putting the branding on products. I mean you can call the current comicbook continuity "Post-Flashpoint" all you want and until you're blue in the face, but it doesn't change the fact DC calls it the "New 52" and therefore that's what gets adopted.

DCEU has never been on a product, never will be, and you won't find direct quotes of braintrust members saying it.

 

[Mainline]

The way I see it, as long as we all know what we're talking about, call it whatever you want, it's the only reason why we name things in the first place.

Exactly right, so why perpetuate a non-official name that only serves to confuse new and non-fans? That's exactly why the OP asks the question, confusion exists:

I ask because DC Extended Universe was trademarked and various magazines and websites refer to the DC films in development as the DCEU, but that new DC special was called DC Films Presents and the newly official DC movie page is called DC Films.

The obvious cure to the confusion is to adopt the official terms that are going to be promoted rather than try to keep a non-brand alive out of stubbornness. Everyone is free to use whatever terminology they want, but it's asking for an extra layer of explanation simply to support a non-official preference. On top of that, even in this thread, there's confusion as to what the DCEU is or contains. Contrast against "Justice League Universe" which simply means "all films within the same continuity as Justice League"... basically, the same way most franchises are branded- "The Fast and the Furious" (even if not every film has the same characters or both words in the title, but the same continuity) or "Lord of the Rings" etc. It's a much clearer and less confusing brand.

You're making a big deal out of nothing. It doesn't frikin matter.

I'm answering the question. "Which is the official universe name?"

Extended has no claim to that, "Justice League Universe" does.

It's bizarre to see people make-up facts to claim extended was official when it never was.

 

[KillerWolf]

Exactly right, so why perpetuate a non-official name that only serves to confuse new and non-fans? That's exactly why the OP asks the question, confusion exists:

And whether it was called DC Extended Universe or DC Films or whatever, we still know what it refers to, so it doesn't matter which one of those is an "official" name.

Fans will know it either way and non-fans won't have use of knowing the official name of the universe, as they're not going to discuss it in-depth on boards... they should only know that these films are connected, which they will via marketing, articles and big DC stamp on all of them.

 

[Mainline]

And whether it was called DC Extended Universe or DC Films or whatever, we still know what it refers to, so it doesn't matter which one of those is an "official" name.

For now, because there's only one product, but the intention of the official brand has already been made clear... to title all 11-ish titles as "Justice League Universe" movies coming from "DC Films."

So there's confusion now, but there doesn't have to be if go with the horse that the WB themselves put in the race.

It doesn't make sense to resolve the confusion in favor of a non-official variant, just because there's confusion now. Down the road there will be no confusion unless you keep using the unofficial name.

A few movies down the line, people at large will have no idea what extended means and whether it is something different, separate, or other. So it's just pure stubbornness to keep an unsupported non-brand alive. You're entitled to do it, but it makes no sense to say, "I want to explain to everyone from now until 2020 what extended is, despite it never appearing on a DC Films product."

 

[Greens]

For now, because there's only one product, but the intention of the official brand has already been made clear... to title all 11-ish titles as "Justice League Universe" movies coming from "DC Films."

So there's confusion now, but there doesn't have to be if go with the horse that the WB themselves put in the race.

If that's what they're "officially" going with, they have failed to notify most fans because on every film website and on every message board it's being called the DC Extended Universe. They should have made the official name clear from the start.

It doesn't make sense to resolve the confusion in favor of a non-official variant, just because there's confusion now. Down the road there will be no confusion unless you keep using the unofficial name.

A few movies down the line, people at large will have no idea what extended means and whether it is something different, separate, or other. So it's just pure stubbornness to keep an unsupported non-brand alive. You're entitled to do it, but it makes no sense to say, "I want to explain to everyone from now until 2020 what extended is, despite it never appearing on a DC Films product."

I think you're overstating the confusion. As has been mentioned, the only people who care about these names are the fans. I'd say most fans have a pretty clear idea of what DCEU means by now. If not, they can ask around and get the hang of it.