Ways to fix the DCEU

[Tg11]

After the disastrous trend of films in the DCEU and those films in general being Suicide Squad (2016), Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017) the DCEU has had moderate successes that being Man of Steel (2013) and Wonder Woman (2017).

Furthermore, the DCEU can be saved and the ways to do it in my opinion are as follows:

- Stop announcing developments in the sense of teasing fans with new projects. However, doing that you basically create even more hype that way and when those projects that were announced don't come to fruition it destroys whatever momentum the DCEU can have.

- The DCEU needs to go after stars who are on the rise instead of going after established stars. By that you build franchises but on the backs of new stars who can carry movies who have that screen presence.

- Expanding the brand also works

- DC needs to have its own identity...separate yourself from Marvel and stand out

- Reboot the whole timeline hence Flashpoint

- Rely on the source material

- Recast Batman

 

[Astro13Zombie]

Trying to be different from Marvel is what ****ed them up from the beginning.
They need to focus on making good movies.
Not being different or competing.

They just need to work on making a series of successful solos and ignore the shared universe thing for now.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

start over

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

After the disastrous trend of films in the DCEU and those films in general being Suicide Squad (2016), Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017) the DCEU has had moderate successes that being Man of Steel (2013) and Wonder Woman (2017).

That reads to me as though you're calling Wonder Woman a 'moderate success'

Trying to be different from Marvel is what ****ed them up from the beginning.
They need to focus on making good movies.
Not being different or competing.

They just need to work on making a series of successful solos and ignore the shared universe thing for now.

Yeah, this is it. I'll hold my hand up anytime and say I like MoS, BvS, and love WW (not seen JL so I can't comment) but the DCEU isn't resonating as it should and these points would go a long way towards addressing that.

 

[jmc]

I honestly think in some ways Wonder Woman was the worst thing to happen to WB, because had it failed they could have started from scratch after Aquaman.

 

[2kt09]

I honestly think in some ways Wonder Woman was the worst thing to happen to WB, because had it failed they could have started from scratch after Aquaman.

Suicide Squad imbued that hubris. That would have been the integral point of no return.
And yet the next DC movie not only also exceeded expectations, it was a decent flick.

 

[Rorschach2012]

We've seen young Batman and middle aged Batman. I want future Batman played by Michael Keaton. This would break the internet. I think they need to do something drastic for Batman this time around.

DC just needs to do something totally groundbreaking and fresh. I do think they should move away from the shared universe concept.

They shouldn't be afraid to get weird with it. WB should've done a Sandman movie already, but better late than never. They've gotta do this one. It would really set WB apart and wouldn't feel like they're copying Marvel. It's an obvious choice, but maybe it could be Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's comeback?

I think another element that could them back in the game is more of an emphasis on diversity. John Stewart is the best black superhero DC has, and they would be stupid to not make him the primary Green Lantern in the reboot. If they do it right, it could be a space epic that could rival the new Star Wars movies.

And finally, that brings me to the female DC characters. This is one element where Marvel can't compete. DC has an advantage right now that they should capitalize on immediately. A big focus on female led films would be a very smart move for DC.

 

[BaronZemo]

Once the deal is finalized any "advantage" DC has with female characters will evaporate. Marvel without Sue Storm or the X-girls already has a bigger numbers of memorable heroines than DC.

 

[brandeezy89]

Once the deal is finalized any "advantage" DC has with female characters will evaporate. Marvel without Sue Storm or the X-girls already has a bigger numbers of memorable heroines than DC.

Lol no

 

[RomanticPenguin]

just make good coherent movies with as little cringe/edgelord stuff as possible

I don't think the DCEU solo movies have been trainwrecks

so just really focus on making Aquaman/Shazam as good as possible cause i'm sure jenkins/reeves will nail it with ww2/bats

that will get you a decent amount of good faith from everyone if they can do 4 films back to back that are decent

 

[Rorschach2012]

Once the deal is finalized any "advantage" DC has with female characters will evaporate. Marvel without Sue Storm or the X-girls already has a bigger numbers of memorable heroines than DC.

DC has objectively better female characters than Marvel. Unfortunately, given their track record, WB will probably mess up the only advantage they have over Marvel. And Marvel with their Midas touch will once again turn a bunch of B-list heroines into A-listers.

 

[Jonwo]

I think just do what Fox with the X-Men films after Origins and concentrate on making good films. They're not going to reboot simply because they've invested too much money in the current slate of films.

 

[Flash525]

I think it's still salvageable, but the guys pushing for film releases need to take a step back and figure out exactly what it is that they want, short of financial gain.

I'm still of the belief that a functional JL team is of benefit to us, and I think they were right to cast someone older and more established in the role of Bruce Wayne.

Whilst some may disagree, I think Ben, Henry and Gal nail their performances of Bruce, Clark and Diana. To reboot the franchise would require recasting the characters (okay, they don't have too but it would be weird if they didn't). I suppose the one benefit is, if they wanted too, they could retain the WW film and insert it into a new continuity, because there's not actually anything tying it down to the expanded universe - not really.

DC/WB need to forget about their spinoff films - we don't need a Nightwing, Batgirl or Deadshot solo, and we can ditch all the Harley Quinn focused material; she's not not going to boost the expanding universe.

They need to revisit the JL; throw in Hawkgirl (can't hurt to add another woman to the team) and, as mentioned above, John Stewart instead of Hal Jordan would be a welcome change from what is expected.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about Ezra as Flash and Ray as Cyborg; not that the latter did a bad job, just I'd have preferred Cyborg be a different character. Ezra as Barry ... I'm indifferent toward at the moment.

Needless to say, there is a whooping 16 DC/WB projects in various stages of development at the moment, with a further five actually upcoming. That's 21 in total. Marvel have six (including IW) - because they have a plan.

DC/WB are getting whey ahead of themselves, it's no wonder their released projects look a mess. It'll be interesting to see how Aquaman does; it'll either be as well received as Wonder Woman, or it'll be a massive flop. If the latter, I can genuinely see DC/WB halting Shazam & Wonder Woman 2, and cancelling additional projects.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

DC/WB need to forget about their spinoff films - we don't need a Nightwing, Batgirl or Deadshot solo, and we can ditch all the Harley Quinn focused material; she's not not going to boost the expanding universe.

Much as I'd like to see a Batgirl movie I pretty much agree (for now) - with the exception of Harley Quinn. I think she could be a huge money-spinner.

 

[Flash525]

Much as I'd like to see a Batgirl movie I pretty much agree (for now) - with the exception of Harley Quinn. I think she could be a huge money-spinner.

I would agree that she'd be a money spinner, cause Margot Robbie but in terms of the expanding DC universe, I just don't think she offers much. I may very well be wrong, but I suspect too many films with that character as the focus would ultimately result in too much of the same.

I don't know a great deal about the comics, but short of her relationship with Joker, and her friendship with Selina & Ivy, what else has she got to give?

 

[eon001]

I said this in a previous thread but I would focus on fringe characters and leave the Justice League and Trinity alone for the next few years.

*Take the Blumhouse approach and do a handful of moderately budgeted horror and street level characters.

*Constantine, Etrigan the Demon, Swampthing could be done for peanuts if they film them like horror and mystery movies.

*Redhood, Nightwing, Birds of Prey, Vixen, The Question could be shot with a John Wick budget.

*Huge return on investment and faith would be stored in the brand.

*After a few years of winning back trust from the audience, drop a Superman movie and give us League solo movies.

*After there back on track they can take big budget risks with New Gods, Lobo, etc.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

I would agree that she'd be a money spinner, cause Margot Robbie but in terms of the expanding DC universe, I just don't think she offers much. I may very well be wrong, but I suspect too many films with that character as the focus would ultimately result in too much of the same.

I don't know a great deal about the comics, but short of her relationship with Joker, and her friendship with Selina & Ivy, what else has she got to give?

There is that Robbie factor!

I agree that if every rumoured Harley-related project comes off there is serious danger of overkill. I'd hope that WB are savvy enough to take that into account...

Harley is one of DCs hottest properties right now. Her solo titles are big and there are a ton of Harley collected editions on the shelves (of course she just celebrated her 25th anniversary). She's also a big part of the DC Super Hero Girls franchise which is doing very nicely in g/ns, webisodes, figures, and DtV adventures (including Lego). Harley seems to appeal across the ages (for some very different reasons! ). As I say though, I agree that overexposure is a risk.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

*Take the Blumhouse approach and do a handful of moderately budgeted horror and street level characters.

*Constantine, Etrigan the Demon, Swampthing could be done for peanuts if they film them like horror and mystery movies.

I'd love to see that at some point

 

[chamber-music]

I don't think you could do a good movie with swamp thing on the cheap. Swamp things powers need some good cgi.

Characters like nightwing, the question and birds of prey could be done on a smaller budget

 

[Flash525]

I said this in a previous thread but I would focus on fringe characters and leave the Justice League and Trinity alone for the next few years.

Do you think that would work though? It's a very different gamble. Imagine if Marvel started their MCU with say, Falcon, Hawkeye, Hellcat and Swordsman - do you think it would have been as favourable and popular as it is?

James Gunn somehow made Guardians work, and credit where it's due, he sure did make it work, but I'm not convinced a setup without the main players is the right way to launch a franchise or expanding universe. Not to mention, but there's a stronger likelihood that people wont watch a film about a character they know little (if anything) about; everyone knows Batman and Superman.

Harley is one of DCs hottest properties right now. Her solo titles are big and there are a ton of Harley collected editions on the shelves (of course she just celebrated her 25th anniversary). She's also a big part of the DC Super Hero Girls franchise which is doing very nicely in g/ns, webisodes, figures, and DtV adventures (including Lego). Harley seems to appeal across the ages (for some very different reasons! ). As I say though, I agree that overexposure is a risk.

I completely misread that!

Regarding Harley though - I suppose she's one element of SS that was done right, and she'd bounce well between Selena & Ivy. I'm not feeling the same about a duo film between her and the Joker though - if a film (about) them is released, I honestly can't quite see the grand appeal. The likes of Harley (and the Joker) need to be part of a larger film for them to work I think!

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

I completely misread that!

Regarding Harley though - I suppose she's one element of SS that was done right, and she'd bounce well between Selena & Ivy. I'm not feeling the same about a duo film between her and the Joker though - if a film (about) them is released, I honestly can't quite see the grand appeal. The likes of Harley (and the Joker) need to be part of a larger film for them to work I think!

A Joker/Harley film doesn't excite me as much as seeing her in another SS or - preferably - GCS (which would of course involve Selina and Ivy).

 

[DrCosmic]

Rule Number One about fixing the DCEU: DON'T try to fix the DCEU.

The closest they've gotten to doing so is Wonder Woman, which simply told its story. Any, and I mean ANYthing that attempts to 'correct course' or 'fix past mistakes' or earn some kind of 'do over' comes off as desperate. DCEU looks like the Johnny come lately to the party. They are proverbially, in the friend zone. We know they want our love, and so they try to posture to get it, but we know they're really not about anything.

If DCEU wants out of the friend zone they're going to have to convince the audience, essentially, that they're going to do great films, whether the audience comes or not, shake of that desperation. This is what Wonder Woman did and JL squandered it by trying too hard to please.

To fix the DCEU: give us worthwhile dialogue, do great cinematography with visual storytelling, create moving epic scores, create memorable action rather than big action, tell timeless stories with unified visions. That's all. I would even go so far as to ban team ups for the forseeable future until the blogosphere calls for it, demands it, craves. Then you give them what they ask for, because they know you're not doing it to impress them, you're doing it because they're already impressed.

If Aquaman does another Wonder Woman and gives us a beloved film that doesn't apologize for itself or its predecessors, we'll be two steps down a road that doesn't look so bad at all.

 

[LTuser]

After the disastrous trend of films in the DCEU and those films in general being Suicide Squad (2016), Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017) the DCEU has had moderate successes that being Man of Steel (2013) and Wonder Woman (2017).

IMO first thing we need to do, is figure out WHAT is broke, not just calling it all broke..

- The DCEU needs to go after stars who are on the rise instead of going after established stars. By that you build franchises but on the backs of new stars who can carry movies who have that screen presence.

I am torn there. On the one hand i can see the appeal in getting new faces. BUT having an established actor (or actress) already has a built in fan base..

- Expanding the brand also works

Expand it to what? Other 'lesser known' DC comics?

- Reboot the whole timeline hence Flashpoint

I don't feel it needs a total time line reboot..

Whilst some may disagree, I think Ben, Henry and Gal nail their performances of Bruce, Clark and Diana. To reboot the franchise would require recasting the characters (okay, they don't have too but it would be weird if they didn't). I suppose the one benefit is, if they wanted too, they could retain the WW film and insert it into a new continuity, because there's not actually anything tying it down to the expanded universe - not really.

I agree. While Keaton will always be the best film bats, i DO think Afleck has done very well, and so has Gal with Diana..

 

[nyyarod]

start over

pretty much this.

 

[Jonwo]

It'll be interesting to see how Aquaman does; it'll either be as well received as Wonder Woman, or it'll be a massive flop. If the latter, I can genuinely see DC/WB halting Shazam & Wonder Woman 2, and cancelling additional projects.

They won't cancel either project simply because one will have be done filming and be post production and the other will be in production or wrapped and in post production and Wonder Woman was a huge hit, they're very unlikely to cancel the sequel.