Is the DCEU Dead??

[SSJPhenom]

There are few things that most everyone agrees on. For example; the Attitude Era was the best era in wrestling, Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest NBA player ever, and the majority of the DCEU sucks. I'd say about 8 to 9 out of 10 people would agree with those statements. What I want to talk about in this thread is the prospect of the DCEU being, for the most part, over with.

I know that there are still some movies that are scheduled to come out that exist within the shared universe that they've created, but they're not going to be all heading towards one big blowout movie with everyone in it ala the MCU. Not to mention that Henry Cavill has stepped down as Superman and Ben Affleck, although no official, is probably done playing Batman. We have Aquaman coming out in a few weeks, which by the way, just opened to record numbers in China and word is that the film is getting great reactions and reviews from audiences and critics. The embargo for the film hasn't lifted yet, but it looks like it's going to be a good one. After that we have Shazam. The one trailer that has been released on that looks pretty good and they have to obvious batarang in one shot to remind everyone that it's in the DCEU. After that I think it's Wonder Woman '84 and it's been delayed twice so far. There are no more plans for any team up movies and there is nothing concrete after Wonder Woman '84.

So is the DCEU dead? If so, where did they go wrong and is there a way to fix it? Let me now your opinions

[CyberPunk]

DCEU may not be dead, but it isn't in great health. DC and WB have done a shit job of setting up the universe. To think that these are some of the most iconic comic book characters, it's puzzling how they fucked this up.

For starters, they just tried to emulate the dark tones of Christopher Nolan's Batman formula without thinking if it fits the overall tone of the universe. They rebooted Batman without giving him a proper backstory. The scripts have been poor, execution has been poor and overall tone of the movies is way too serious and pretentious. Couple that with the fact that the DC TV shows aren't cannon, they just created separate universes for movies and TV and that just doesn't work. Man of Steel was an okay movie, but the follow ups have been horrendous. I don't think a good Aquaman or Shazam movie can rescue the hole that DCEU finds itself in narrative wise.

[Big Nick Dudley]

Not if they can string together several great films. Aquaman looks like a hit. Shazaam had a killer trailer and I doubt Wonder Woman 2 will flop. They can still turn it around.

[Jack-Hammer]

The DCEU had an uphill battle from the very beginning. The MCU has completely altered the way film adaptations of comic books will be made in that not only are the movies, as a whole, quite good in terms of action, but they're good in terms of stories and character development in ways that weren't really there before. The MCU has forced Hollywood to take these sorts of movies seriously and while there were successful comic book adaptations before the MCU, you didn't have mega box office draws and/or Academy Award winning actors basically begging star in these movies. Thirty years ago, Warner Bros. basically had to give Jack Nicholson the moon and stars for him to agree to play as the Joker in Tim Burton's first Batman film; his deal included that he'd receive substantial money from every subsequent Batman film that came out that was part of the continuity of the 1989 film. Today, these movies produce major stars and can jack up the careers of acclaimed actors who may not have been big draws before. Before the Avengers, Mark Ruffalo was a critically acclaimed actor but, let's be honest, damn near nobody knew who the guy was. His career has gotten a boost playing Bruce Banner in terms of fame and paychecks and being most famous for playing Bruce Banner/the Hulk hasn't dimmed critics opinions of him in subsequent projects given that he's continued to win or be nominated for major awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes and two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor.

The DCEU was going to be compared to the MCU, it was inescapable in the first place and I'm wondering if they weren't concerned with trying to look like copycats if they used the same sort of formula as the MCU. If that was a concern, they put more emphasis on it instead of making good movies. They didn't take the time to flesh out the characters, what made them tick, who they were and come up with a coherent story that tied everything together. Instead, they generally went for lots of loud, CGI action and packing the cast with Academy Award nominees & winners in the hopes that movie fans, somehow, wouldn't know the difference but they did. In my opinion, they should have gone with another Superman solo film, a Batman solo film, the Wonder Woman film, the Aquaman film, maybe given the Flash his own film, then do Batman v. Superman and then maybe gone for the Justice League film. They really tried to rush through it and the result has been, for the most part, movies that came off as mediocre, rushed and poorly cast.

Is the DCEU dead? I don't think that it's dead but it's probably never going to be on the MCU's level until they address and fix these problems going forward. A lot will depend on how Aquaman, Shazam and Wonder Woman perform; if they don't deliver, it wouldn't surprise me if they just scrap the whole thing and consider trying again later on down the line.

[Spidey]

They're making a ton of money and fans (for whatever reason) are still interested, so I'd say not anytime soon.

[Lee]

"Not to mention that Henry Cavill has stepped down as Superman and Ben Affleck, although no official, is probably done playing Batman." Fake news.

[Slyfox696]

It never ceases to amaze me how DC totally screwed up the movie thing. They had the most recognizable superheroes, and a history of successful movies. And yet, somehow, they've become a joke and Marvel has left them in their dust. It's crazy.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

I prefer DC > Marvel. So, I don't want to see it die.

[Lee]

I honestly think Aquaman, Shazam and Wonderwoman are what is needed. A shift from Batman and the reliance.

Joker is as it should be in that it's an "elseworlds" style movie not fitting into the rest. Really they should have done the JSA but that's too late now. The DCEU has a lot to add but a lot to learn from too. The real Captain Marvel is one of the most interesting characters in DC so it'll be interesting to see how he works on the big screen.

[klunderbunker]

If it's not dead, it's not likely to get better.

Above all else, the movies haven't been fun. Man of Steel was a bunch of violence and, aside from Wonder Woman, almost everything else has been dark and brooding. There's very little inviting to bring you into the fold and when that's your beginning, not much else is going to work.

The whole thing was going to be based on Batman and Superman. They're the biggest superheroes of all time and no matter what else anyone did, the two of them were going to be what mattered most. Superman was a disaster and dragged Batman down with him, leaving us with nothing interesting until Wonder Woman showed up in a great movie. Aside from that though, everything is dark and messy with everything being serious instead of fun. Comic books can be dark, but you have to have a good time too. That's not the case with the DCEU.

[Slyfox696]

If it's not dead, it's not likely to get better.

Above all else, the movies haven't been fun. Man of Steel was a bunch of violence and, aside from Wonder Woman, almost everything else has been dark and brooding. There's very little inviting to bring you into the fold and when that's your beginning, not much else is going to work.

The whole thing was going to be based on Batman and Superman. They're the biggest superheroes of all time and no matter what else anyone did, the two of them were going to be what mattered most. Superman was a disaster and dragged Batman down with him, leaving us with nothing interesting until Wonder Woman showed up in a great movie. Aside from that though, everything is dark and messy with everything being serious instead of fun. Comic books can be dark, but you have to have a good time too. That's not the case with the DCEU.
That's what Marvel did so well. They got quality actors, but more importantly, the movies are fun. There are feels in them, but the movies are a great time.

[Lee]

That's what Marvel did so well. They got quality actors, but more importantly, the movies are fun. There are feels in them, but the movies are a great time.

Funnily enough Miller said he regreted some of the dark tones in his comics for that reason.

[Big Nick Dudley]

I don't think a darker tone is what hurts DC. I think they just made some bad films. I really think it is that simple.

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't think a darker tone is what hurts DC. I think they just made some bad films. I really think it is that simple.

I agree. I didn't particularly find Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman or Justice League dark, I just thought they ultimately weren't very well made movies. They substituted CGI for character development and story and it bit them in the ass. An example of a truly dark comic book film is Logan, which is easily the darkest superhero movie I've seen. Even though it's not part of the MCU, Logan was a fantastic film, critics loved it, movie goers heartily embraced it and it currently has the 4th highest grossing worldwide total for an R rated movie. Going dark can work if the rest of the elements for a great movie are there.

[SSJPhenom]

I'm still of the mindset that had WB released the Ultimate version of Batman V. Superman then we might be having a different conversation regarding the DCEU today. I hated the theatrical version but I'm telling you, for the 50th time, the Ultimate version is great. It's like a completely different film from the theatrical version.

[Big Nick Dudley]

And not to really start a debate, I thought the Ultimate version was even worse. Just longer and even more boring. Their biggest mistake was Snyder.

[SSJPhenom]

I'll agree 100% that their issue was with going with Snyder. He was just the wrong choice for something like this. I respect your opinion on the Ultimate Edition, however, I thought the Ultimate Edition was fantastic. It had clearer explanations and motivations for the characters and focused equally on both Batman and Superman instead of just Batman like the theatrical version did.

[Lee]

Having seen Aquaman you can all suck my balls. Was amazing fun and what a superhero movie should be.

[Big Nick Dudley]

Now give Henry Cavill another solo movie with a good filmmaker. Cavill is not the problem.

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Having seen Aquaman you can all suck my balls. Was amazing fun and what a superhero movie should be.

Not going to suck your balls. Iâ??m seeing it tomorrow. Iâ??ve only heard good things. At the very least, it looks like itâ??ll be fun.

[Jack-Hammer]

Aquaman was a good, "old fashioned" sort of comic book film in that it's more light hearted than anything else you're going to see in the DCEU. It's a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the DCEU, minus Wonder Woman; as long as you don't expect some epic happening that sets new standards and rewrites the book on what comic book film adaptations will be going forward, then Aquaman works.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Saw Aquaman last night. Solid movie overall, no real big complaints from me.

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Saw Aquaman last night. Solid movie overall, no real big complaints from me.

I saw it yesterday. I have one complaint that’s pretty minor:

HOw the fuck did they get out of the Sahara desert?

Otherwise a very enjoyable movie. You could tell from Justice League they created a fun character.

[Miko]

Not dead, just not that interesting, they seem to have learnt that Batman isn’t the norm, he was the Golden Goose, off the page no one else can live in his world, taken out of his world he loses effectiveness, a change in style and 2 decent films later DC might have started to find their swing. A long way to go before they can compete with Marvel, Superman wiping the floor with the Justice League renders them pointless, I get that it’s probably comic book accurate, but the comic alter ego’s of all but Hulk of the movie Avengers would get annihilated by Thor, it’s just more entertaining when Iron Man gets a few hits in. Speaking of Thor, Marvel turned their heaviest hitter, albiet most boring character into arguably their MVP, watch the audience reactions to him landing Wakanda. That’s real adapting. Most fans want another Hulk solo film, but solo Hulk sucks, Marvel are lucky they can’t do it.

In short, Marvrl are currently striking gold with the perfect balance. DC sucks right now but are luckily staying alive. In 20 years who knows?

[A11]

It seems that DC dont even know what they are doing with it. Seems like they have about seven different timelines, which for comic books is fine but for casuals not so much. The fact that they're going to reboot suicide squad and batman is going to be interesting. The good news for them is they can adapt the flashpoint storyline to reboot a little, the bad news is ezra miller is flash and fuck that guy

[Lee]

Rebooting suicide squad is literally the point of suicide squad. They're disposable and reboots will happen with it as it fits in the nature of the squad. Look at Thor and how many reboots he's had without calling it as such.

The Batman movie is a prequel so it makes sense.

That and Aquaman is the highest DC have done at the box office. If that's them dying I'd love to see them alive.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Its not dead until Condiment King gets a stand alone movie.

[jmt225]

The Guardians movies are by far my favorite Marvel films, so James Gunn possibly directing the next Suicide Squad has my interest even though I couldn't have hated the first Squad movie more.

IMO the key to getting some serious hype for Batman in the DCEU again is to bring back Michael Keaton and Tim Burton with a "Dark Knight Returns" like storyline (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Knight_Returns). That would be massive and have everyone talking. Half would be stoked, the other half baffled. But they would all be talking about it and they would all pay to see it.

[Lee]

There's a big push for Keaton to do Batman Beyond.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Keaton is the best Batman. Fight me.

[Lee]

Keaton is the best Batman. Fight me.

He plays the best Batman in Birdman.

[Big Nick Dudley]

IMO the key to getting some serious hype for Batman in the DCEU again is to bring back Michael Keaton and Tim Burton with a "Dark Knight Returns" like storyline (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Knight_Returns). That would be massive and have everyone talking. Half would be stoked, the other half baffled. But they would all be talking about it and they would all pay to see it.

I'd much rather wait 10-15 years for Bale and Nolan to do this. They already halfway did this in TDKR, but I just prefer those films to Burton's. And 2018+ Burton is not 1989-1992 Burton.