It’s been a big summer for DC. The company’s hopes and dreams weighed heavily on the shoulders of The Flash, and the weight proved more than the Scarlet Speedster could bear. With its darling buried under the weight of reality, Warner Bros. should be pushing hard for Blue Beetle, but a lack of promos from actors due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes is keeping marketing at a minimum. Luckily for the media giant, fans are more than willing to pick up the slack, with many different DC communities doing the leg work.
James Gunn has fallen off the radar as he delves into setting up the future of the DCU. It may be the poor reception of The Flash that has sent the director scurrying, but it doesn’t sound like many folks over in Warner Bros. know what the director is up to these days. While Gunn works on whatever future he sees for the DCU, The Flash continues to disappoint fans, as more news about the multiverse that could have been keeps trickling in.
Blue Beetle carries fans’ hopes and dreams for one DC summer blockbuster
In the midst of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the normal press rounds aren’t happening, but despite the lack of promotion, there are plenty of fans ready to embrace Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes in Blue Beetle. Despite the outpouring of support from Latino communities, Blue Beetle is on track to have one of the worst opening weekends in 40 years, with current estimates putting the movie in the $12-$17 million range. Fans have been working tirelessly to promote the film via social media, showcasing Warner Bros. marketing team’s obsolescence.
The bad estimates haven’t put a damper on cast and crews’ spirits, and despite the emergence of Blue Beetle smack dab in the middle of one of the messiest reboots we’ve ever seen, Maridueña is gunning for a long-term position in the DC universe.
James Gunn has confirmed that Blue Beetle is the first entry into his reimagined world of supers, so there is a real chance that the young actor gets his 12-year-a-hero wish. With rumors swirling that the film will set the stage for the new multiverse, there’s no doubt that the first installment in the DCEU will namedrop like crazy without confirming who, or where, those other supers might be. Though Blue Beetle director Angel Manuel Soto would love to see Jaime run into Gotham’s Dark Knight sometime in the future.
James Gunn is working on… Something
James Gunn may have pegged Blue Beetle as the first entry into the revamped DC Universe, but the director’s first project won’t hit theatres until 2025. Superman: Legacy may be years off, but that doesn’t mean that Gunn isn’t deeply entrenched in laying the groundwork for the cinematic universe, even if no one but him seems to know what’s going on. Gunn did announce some major casting choices back in July, so there is good reason for him to keep a low profile. There is still some debate about who’s going to be who in the DCU, and no shortage of fan excitement for a complete overhaul of the central DC heroes to focus on Justice League: Dark or the Teen Titans.
While plenty of viewers are content with whatever may come, some fans are still stuck on whether or not the former MCU director has what it takes to make a “serious superhero film,” despite his acclaimed The Suicide Squad tackling imperialism shockingly well. It doesn’t take Zack Snyder’s gritty bread and butter to make something “Dark,” and plenty of DC fanatics are more than interested in seeing how Gunn and Co. handle the future of the DCU. It just wouldn’t be DC news if there wasn’t some unhinged James Gunn theory, and the latest is that the pitiful numbers for The Flash, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods can be tracked back to the director.
The Flash isn’t racing to streaming anytime soon
Despite its status as a box office bomb, the Flash may have one avenue through which it can surpass the House of Mouse. It looks like, despite its titular hero’s propensity for speed, The Flash won’t be coming to streaming anytime soon. In one for the record books, the flop is dragging its feet on the way to streaming service Max, and won’t hit the platform until September at the earliest. As fans reel in the aftermath of the absolute letdown of a film, details of a world that could have been have stirred up waves of frustration and exhaustion from fans who just want quality content and not rehashed tripe. More than anything, fans see the trainwreck of a film as a devastating send-off for the beloved Superman actor, Henry Cavill. Cavill’s Uncanny Valley appearance isn’t the only computer-generated hero fans are leery of. Adam West is set to have a cameo in the Kiddie series, Batwheels, as the Batmobile, and the appearance has fans wondering who exactly that cameo is for.
Published: Aug 10, 2023 10:00 pm