From a purely critical standpoint, the early years of the DCEU were a bit of a bust. Four of the franchise’s first five movies scored Rotten ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, and it wasn’t until Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman arrived that Warner Bros. and DC Films’ shared universe had an almost universally acclaimed smash hit.
One of the major problems with almost every single interconnected mythology to spring up in the wake of Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe is that the decision makers always look too far ahead, and are so intent on laying the foundations for the future that the focus often slips on what’s right in front of them. Looking back, the WB’s decision to announce ten superhero blockbusters on the same day in 2014 is a perfect example of that.
Out of those ten, only half of them have made it to theaters in the seven years since. Ray Fisher’s solo Cyborg movie and the Green Lantern Corps reboot have been abandoned entirely, The Batman is arriving next year in a much different form from when it was first announced with Ben Affleck set to star and direct, The Flash doesn’t even start production until next month, and the status of Zack Snyder’s Justice League sequel is currently a hot topic of conversation.
However, according to the latest information from Mikey Sutton, failing the first time around isn’t going to stop WB from trying again. As per the tipster, DC are planning to attempt to replicate the MCU formula once more, taking their movies in an altogether lighter and more accessible direction, in order to veer away from the inherent darkness of the SnyderVerse. The thing is, though, any glance at the internet will let you know that there are a lot of people who won’t settle for such an approach, so it’ll certainly be interesting to see how it plays out.
