Smiles, tears, laughs, shock, these are the phases we as movie viewers experience during many of Marvel Studios' amazing films. So far these movies have come in good quality, showing Marvel's steak of success isn't slowing down. Since Marvel's "The Avengers" many other movie studios have been trying to up their game and cash in on shared universes. Fox with The X-Men, Sony tried with Spider-Man, and Warner Bros with the DC Comics Universe. You know like "Man of Steel". Wait, where is Superman? Oh, there he is! Moping in the corner.
Ever since Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, many comic/movie companies started believing going dark and gritty was a cash-cow strategy. This resulted in the depressing 2013 Superman film, the edgy interpretation of Green Arrow in CW's "Arrow", and the darker tone of "The Amazing Spider-Man". I swear it feels like the 90's all over again, one critically acclaimed dark superhero product makes money and everyone turns on their heel. Now even the upcoming Supergirl TV show will be suiting Kara-El in a murky Super-suit. Not only will Warner/DC's upcoming movie universe be soaked in darkness, but in August of 2014 Warner Bros claimed their movies will have a "no joke policy". Sorry if you like smiling, but Wonder Woman needs to bite Lex Luthor's head off and spit into The Flash's lap. I think the idea of DC going with a strictly serious universe is a stubborn decision, fearing that if they try to make their movies fun they'd only be ridiculed by Marvel fans. Seeing as how Ant-Man will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe quite soon, I wouldn't be surprised if another shrinking hero like DC's The Atom never shows up in the movies out of DC's fear of mockery. After all, I propose that kind of thinking lead to the DCCU (DC Cinematic Universe) Aquaman looking like a barbarian. By making Aquaman look crazy intimidating, DC probably figures Marvel will get backlash if they ever use their stuck-up ocean hero, Namor the Sub-Mariner. It's this kind of competitive thinking that makes DC/Warner seem desperate for approval.
In 2016 we'll be getting "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "Suicide Squad". 2017 will bring "Wonder Woman" and "Justice League Part 1". "The Flash" and "Aquaman" will be coming to the silver screen in 2018. Next in 2019 will be "Shazam" and "Justice League Part 2" Finally, we'll get "Cyborg" and "Green Lantern" in 2020. Planning ahead at it's finest or choppy scheduling? We all know Marvel set up at least four of their characters before assembling them together, with DC/Warner they seem to be just diving into Justice League without the setup. Other than not wanting to produce six or seven movies before cashing in on a JL movie, I'd guess this planning was put together to further distance DC/Warner from Marvel Studios. Again, this attempt to be different from Marvel in every possible way does not seem productive to a desired universe.
Look, a little darkness isn't a bad thing, in fact it can be the element that adds depth to the story being told. Example: Iron Man 3 had just as many funny moments as it's predecessors, but it also featured a super villain turning former US soldiers into walking explosives. Despite comedy and suspense being polar opposites, the Marvel movies have found a way to balance those elements and create a tone for their universe. If Superman, Wonder Woman, and everyone else is depressed and conflicted, how appealing of a character is Batman going to be!? The whole appeal of having Batman on the Justice League is that he's the super-serious guy while everyone else is relatively light-hearted. My fear is that once Justice League comes to film every character will be grim and gritty and Batman will just look like an angry man in spandex. Thanks for reading!
By the way, I'm considering doing a series of Pitch-It's for my desired DCCU. If that sounds appealing, please let me know you'd enjoy it by leaving a like or a comment!
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