So I recently watched Wonder Woman 1984 and while the movie was ok entertainment, I do wonder about what direction the DC Extended Universe is taking. Is it going to be dark? Wonder Woman 1984 was pretty light or is it going to be more action-packed like Aquaman was.
The thing with the DC Extended Universe is that to me it seems that they don’t know what direction to take. Will we go for a dark themed universe like they tried with Superman vs Batman and Man of Steel or are we heading into a lighter direction like Wonder Woman 1 / 2 and Aquaman were.
Also there doesn’t seem to be a plan to connect the movies at all. And how are we supposed to empathize or immerse ourselves when we have no clue about the characters most of the time. And by that I mean The Flash, Wonder Woman and Cyborg.
We get introduced to the characters in Justice League but we barely know anything about them. Which is a shame given the rich history of all the characters I mentioned.
So how do we fix DC Extended Universe?
I would say let’s go all Marvel Cinematic Universe and give each individual a movie and work towards an ensemble movie just like the Justice League but that has been done before and it gave us 23 movies before we went into the Marvel Cosmic Phase which I am looking forward to.
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How to fix the DC Extended Universe
First of all , think of a way to have an arc that always plays on the background. I will use the example of Darkseid. We have seen the Parademons, who in the comics are the minions of Darkseid. The boxes are all inventions of Darkseid as well. We could use them as scouts to see how powerful the defenses of Earth are and we can put in Granny Goodness and her minions.
In fact we can have a movie where Granny Goodness is the main villain along with her cronies The Female Furies as she climbs the ranks on Apokalips, home of Darkseid and give that character more depth before DC and WB decides to make the next ensemble movie such as for example Justice League 2 (I know, I am very original).
But instead of making it the end of a chapter like for instance The Avengers was, we have the ensemble Justice League 2 movie push the plot forward towards the next movie. That way you get the ensemble movies as a way to move the overarching story arcs that will lead to Darkesid, as per my example, while the ensemble movies will serve as gateways to the main character movies such as Superman 2, Wonder Woman 1984 and the upcoming Flash movie.
So what you get is that the big events are actually happening in the individual movies rather than in the ensemble movies while the ensemble movies still play a pivotal role when it comes to driving overarching story arcs forward.
Meanwhile the villains of the movies each get their own movie, giving the DC Extended Universe even more depth. The same depth that Marvel movies currently lack with the one dimensional movies. There are exceptions like Loki and maybe even Thanos but most of the villains that featured in the Marvel movies were merely plot devices and one dimensional. The DC Extended Universe can change that by writing movies about the villains. A perfect example of that is The Joker movie with Joaquin Phoenix. The movie was perfect and it established the character of The Joker perfectly. And it is too bad that The Joker movie will remain a standalone movie because it’s movies like that that can create a movie universe so vast that you will want to invest time and immerse yourself into that.
Possible issues with this idea
Although the idea of rebooting the movies in such a way sounds great, there are some downsides to it.
With the ensemble movies being just the thread that holds the universe together, people are kind of obliged to watch ALL of the individual superhero movies of the DC Extended Universe such as the new Wonder Woman, Superman or the Flash movies in order understand the story. So in order to understand the motivations and quirks of for example Granny Goodness, you would have to watch the movie of her and her time on Apokalips.
Marvel, I do love the Marvel Universe so don’t get me wrong, just added Ebony Maw for instance to Avengers: Infinity War and then gave him a cameo in Avengers: Endgame. There was barely any character development at all and he was sucked into space before we actually even got to say hello.
But if there was a Thanos and his cronies movie then I would have needed to watch that movie in order to understand the character at least a little bit. And that’s what the weakest point of my idea is. I am kind of hoping that one of you will help me figure this out.
The Flash is in Development Hell
Don’t kid yourself, The Flash is currently in development hell and while Ezra Miller has said numerous times that he will still be playing The Flash, my faith in an actual Flash movie coming to HBO Max or the theaters in the next five years are slimming down every time the movie is mentioned on the internet.
The definition of development hell is the following, according to Wikipedia and you know Wikipedia is always right:
Development hell, development limbo, or production hell is a media industry jargon for a film, video game, record album, television program, screenplay, software application, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, or studios before it progresses to production, if it ever does. Projects in development hell are not officially cancelled, but progress slows, changes, or stops completely.
Followed by:
Film industry companies often buy the film rights to many popular novels, video games, and comic books, but it may take years for such properties to be successfully brought to the screen, and often with considerable changes to the plot, characters, and general tone. This pre-production process can last for months or years. More often than not, a project trapped in this state for a prolonged period of time will be abandoned by all interested parties or canceled outright. As Hollywood starts ten times as many projects as there are released, many scripts will end up in this limbo state. This happens most often with projects that have multiple interpretations and reflect several points of view.
The Flash has been in development for so long that I think hell will literally have frozen over before we even get to see the movie. Which is too bad because Ezra Miller has done a fine job in The Justice League movie and later in Crisis on Infinite Earths with his cameo where it was established that The Flash of his earth was a novice while Grant Gustin’s Flash was miles ahead of him in terms of development. Think of things like being aware the SpeedForce exists and controlling the speed that was given to him.
The DC Animated Universe
However if the DC Extended Universe wishes to continue with standalone movies, which is totally fine then they could take an example of their DC Animated Universe.
The DC Animated Universe usually brings the great storylines such as Batman: Hush or Superman: Red Son to the small screen and with great success. The storytelling is of high quality, the animation is as well. And even the Green Lantern name was saved by releasing the animated movies after the main movie starring Ryan Reynolds bombed big time at the Box Office.
The DC Animated Universe could actually even serve as a template for the DC Extended Universe if they want to continue with standalone movies.
Comicbook stories that need to be on the Big screen
Ofcourse there is the question of the storylines that people really need to see on the big screen and here are a few that I would love to see.
- Blackest Night: Blackest Night was a comicbook line that unleashed the anti Green Lantern Corps into the universe: The Black Night Corps who brought nothing but death and revived former fallen heroes with a dark twist by citing the following:
The Blackest Night falls from the skies the darkness grows as all light dies
we crave your hearts and your demise by my Black Hand – the dead shall rise! Very creepy but oh so delicious as a story! - Superman/ Batman: Supergirl Vol.1: Supergirl’s pod is discovered by Batman and Superman. Superman tries to integrate her into life on earth not knowing that she is being chased by Darkseid. Great story written by Jeph Loeb and the great artist Michael Turner who passed away too soon.
- Wonder Woman: Sacrifice. This is the issue where Wonder Woman kills Maxwell Lord to allow Superman to regain control of his life. This comic was controversial at the time because of the golden rule where a hero never kills a villain.
- The Flash: Flashpoint: The comic where Barry Allen runs back to the past to save his mother and unknowingly changes the entire DC Universe history with all its’ consequences. This would be perfect for several reasons, one of them being that it is the kind of crossover that could save the DC Extended Universe.
- Superman: For the Man who has everything. An all time classic Superman story where Superman never got to earth but lives a full life on a never destroyed Krypton. It is nothing but an illusion since a parasite disguised as a gift takes control of Superman.
- Batman: Hush: The story written by comicbook legend Jeph Loeb and legendary artists Jim Lee and inked by Scott Williams where Batman is being manipulated by a new foe while chasing old foes in order to figure out who the new foe is. This story has everything: The Riddler, Catwoman and Bats as lovers, Jason Todd, Clayface and the reveal of Batman’s new villain Hush.
Those are my six suggestions for the big screen. What are yours? Please let me know by dropping a comment.
