Does DC even know what it wants to be?

Once again, fans of the DC cinematic universe are looking at another regime change. With the news of James Gunn abdication of the DCU throne this week, it’s hard to remain positive about the future of Marvel’s biggest competitor on the big screen. 

Gunn was supposed to be Warner Bros.’ golden goose, a creative overseer who would carve a cinematic identity for the comic book heroes we all know and love. But now DC Studios has cast him out in favor of another former Marvel alum: Jeremy Latcham, a producer whose credits include a list of successful MCU hits. 

While Latcham is no doubt a capable lead for the DCU, I can’t help but wonder if the folks over at DC are shooting themselves in the foot by once again switching gears. Rather than the studio sticking to its guns (pun intended) and crafting its own formula for success, DC is looking outwards for another quick and easy route to success. The question is: will fans stick with the studio through yet another one of its identity crises?

DC spent years trying to respond to Marvel’s success

When Snyder first began crafting his own DC cinematic universe (then called the DCEU), it was pretty distinct from Marvel. But over time, as critical reception and box-office numbers began to dwindle, DC started to mimic Marvel’s formula. Eventually, the dark and dour Snyderverse was scrapped altogether, and in stepped Gunn.

Gunn, who was poached from Marvel, was set to lead DC into its own golden age of on-screen comic adaptations. The complete 180 from Snyder’s universe upset certain fans, but it seemed as if DC were going to stick with the new DCU Gunn was laying out, even when films like Supergirl failed to make a return.

I’ll admit, some of the new DCU films have been a disappointment for me, but I, like many other fans, was willing to wait and give Gunn a chance to show us where he was taking this world and its characters. But it seems the head of Skydance, the owner of Warner Bros. and DC Studios, was not.

An identity crisis

So just four years after James Gunn was announced as the head of DC Studios, he is gone. And now it looks like the DCU will be going in a very different direction. Once again, DC is looking outside of itself for the winning formula, rather than focusing on the seeds that were planted by Gunn.

The decision to name Jeremy Latcham as the new head seems almost desperate. The last few years we saw an original vision for the DCU that was distinct enough from Marvel to be its own thing, but because it didn’t instantly bring the level of success the MCU saw, it had to be scrapped. Now it seems DC is once again trying to mimic the more successful studio by bringing in another Marvel veteran. But will it work a second time? 

While Snyder fans were outraged, it seemed the rest of the general audience was mostly understanding during the first regime change. But now? We’re more than a bit tired of DC resetting and rebooting every time it doesn’t see instant success. Fans need a brand identity to connect with; they need to know what the DCU is about, but it seems like even DC Studios doesn’t know what it’s about anymore.

We’ll just have to wait and see how everything shakes out. Hopefully this isn’t a complete reset, but DC is on shaky ground. It had only just started regaining my trust after the last regime change; now I’ve lost all hope and interest in watching anything from the DCU.