After a wobbly few years, Warner Bros. and DC’s superhero output finally feels like it’s found its groove. The high-profile failure of Justice League resulted from WB’s determination to copy Marvel Studios’ MCU as closely as possible. Since that failed, they’ve shifted their aim, with their ongoing DCEU superhero films technically taking place in a shared universe without big crossovers. This strategy was evident in hits like Aquaman, and their new willingness to take risks has paid off, with Joker going on to massive box office success and a host of Academy Award nominations.
Now, they’ve sensibly figured that if they’ve found a successful formula, they should stick with it. Joker in particular has proven to them that a standalone superhero movie can do the numbers of an MCU-style crossover, resulting in them re-thinking a lot of their future plans for the DCEU. In fact, sources close to WGTC – the same ones who told us National Treasure 3 is in the works and the Transformers series is being rebooted, both of which have since been confirmed – say that there’s now a push from certain execs within the studio to shelve any planned event movies/major crossovers that had been in the works for the time being and just stay on their current course. Meaning they want to continue pumping out standalone films that have only minimal crossover, if any, between the various heroes.
And while apparently not everyone at the studio feels this way and it’s not necessarily the direction they’ll end up going in, this is certainly music to my ears. After all, we already have the MCU doing what it does very well, so I’d much rather see Warner Bros.’ DC output differentiate itself with more imaginative takes on their classic properties. Let’s hope they look to their vast stable of comic talent for Joker-style stories, particularly if they start eyeing limited series like Red Son, Gotham by Gaslight and All-Star Superman.
The one awkward element in this though is The Batman. Right now, we don’t know if or how it’ll connect with the DCEU as a whole. At one point, it was planned as a prequel to Ben Affleck’s take on the character, but word is that’s been jettisoned and it’s now its own property. Plus, there are apparently plans to create a mini-Batman universe that this movie will launch, allowing future spinoffs to be told in its Gotham City. I just hope they’ve learned their lessons from Batman V Superman and focus on the story they’re telling rather than teasing future ones from now on.
