It's Becoming Increasingly Clear that DC/WB Have No Idea What They're Doing With Their Movies

[SOLDIER]

I don't know why people have any modicum of faith left at this point. Does no one else see what they're doing?

-Announces upcoming movie with big-name director attached
-Announces big-name actor attached to same movie
-May or may not be part of the current DCCU, we don't know

This has been their approach for years now, and the majority of the time the end result tends to be:

-Big-name director leaves project
-Big-name actor is still attached...maybe...probably.

It's gotten to the point that I literally don't care which director/actor combination gets announced next. Swamp Thing by Steven Spielberg! Yeah, get excited about that! It'll definitely happen at some point!

This isn't a new thing either, this has been their practice for decades now. Look at the startlingly high number of big name projects that got cancelled (Justice League Mortal). You can't argue that they're being careful and taking their time at this point...they just have no goddamn clue what to do with some of the world's most popular superheroes.

And it depresses me so much. Batman V. Superman is an amazing film in that the longer that time passes, the angrier I get thinking about it. Scrambling to throw some emergency reshoots into Justice League and pretend that "See, Superman was a nice guy who cared about humanity the whole time!" didn't cut it.

Now comes the part where people frantically respond with "But Wonder Woman though!!!" Yeah, and? It was a good movie. Not an amazing movie but very good and I own a copy of it. The sequel will probably be as good....I mean, I really really hope so.

But so what? One good movie after a truckload of disappointments. One good movie when the competition has pumped out over 20. Meanwhile, their two biggest icons (Batman and Superman) are in a state of purgatory where people have had to witness the single worst depictions of both characters and we still have no idea if the current actors are going to stay, or if the whole thing will get a reboot (which I keep praying for), or....hey look, a Joker Trilogy is coming up! Big name director! Pay attention to that! Jingle the keys!

I don't think I've seen a single property stumble about in confusion and stupidity as much as the DC Cinematic Universe.

 

[Deleted member 4034]

* shrug *
Shazam looks cool.
Not into their universe thing, haven't seen BvS or Justice League, but I'll give a solo movie a shot if it looks decent enough.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Captain Marvel looks great. Aquaman looks alright.

 

[It’s Time To Go]

Teen Titans Go is great though.

 

[El Bombastico]

Um, its been clear since Man of Steel...

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Feels like everything post BvS is a soft reboot of sorts. If Aquaman sucks (I didn't like the trailer but have faith in James Wan) they'll probably drop the current JL bar Wondy and focus on lesser-known characters like Shazam, John Stewart, Black Adam while they slowly reintroduce Batman, Supes et al, or they'll just Flashpoint that shit out of existence and go full tonal change proper reboot.

 

[Kill3r7]

Outside of Nolan's Trilogy, DC/WB have been reacting to Marvel movies instead of doing their own thing.

Um, its been clear since Man of Steel...

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.

 

[Neophant]

I'm thinking you're just overreacting and buying into every announcement and rumor coming from bloggers and websites. Sure there seems to be a lot in the pipeline but as of right now WB has only 4 movies that are going to be ready to shoot and release in 2019 and beyond...The Flash, Birds of Prey, the Joker solo movie (separate from the DCEU) and The Batman. Everything else is still being speculated on.

 

[SOLDIER]

Teen Titans Go is great though.

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It's been speculated/admitted? that the animation department is completely and wholly separate from the people in charge of the movies.

I've read more than once that there is actual animosity towards the former by the latter, as DCAU and many other animated works get far more praise and critical reception from the fans.

I'm thinking you're just overreacting and buying into every announcement and rumor coming from bloggers and websites. Sure there seems to be a lot in the pipeline but as of right now WB has only 4 movies that are going to be ready to shoot and release in 2019 and beyond...The Flash, Birds of Prey, the Joker solo movie (separate from the DCEU) and The Batman. Everything else is still being speculated on.

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I honestly will be surprised if even two of those movies actually come out.

 

[UberTag]

Batman had a decent movie not too long ago. Should have been nominated for an Oscar.
(I'm, of course, referring to The Lego Movie.)

 

[SurrenderDorothy]

Dunno, they can only go up. I don't think it's all dead, hopefully with Shazam and Aquaman they find their stride. Those two look fairly promising.
As long as they keep their future stories focused and tight, I won't be worried. WW was a good step towards that, although it had its ups and downs.

They have to know they can't keep doing the same thing and expect better results......right?

 

[Skii]

Tbf most superhero movies have been bad, not just DC. I think the bar for superhero movies is really low when its marvel and unreasonably high for DC.

 

[Sgt. Demblant]

There was that one scene where Henry was shirtless in Man of Steel.
So I do believe there is a greater plan us mere mortals cannot truly perceive yet. But once we all embrace the true glory of Dan Didio's mustache, the true path will reveal itself.

Don't listen to Kevin's lies!
Dan lives!

 

[Sephzilla]

It's been clear that WB/DC doesn't have a steady grip on the wheel the moment they decided to fast track a super hero team up movie right after The Avengers made a cool billion

 

[Sgt. Demblant]

Captain Marvel looks great. Aquaman looks alright.

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I don't see how Genis has anything to do with this.

 

[SOLDIER]

Dunno, they can only go up. I don't think it's all dead, hopefully with Shazam and Aquaman they find their stride. Those two look fairly promising.
As long as they keep their future stories focused and tight, I won't be worried. WW was a good step towards that, although it had its ups and downs.

They have to know they can't keep doing the same thing and expect better results......right?

Click to shrink...

 

[Khanimus]

Right now they're just hoping to god Aquaman turns out okay, I think they have some confidence in Shazam at this point, and that Wonder Woman 2 carries any measure of good will from the last one.

Birds of Prey is a good enough idea that it may turn out okay, and they seem content to make sure Matt Reeves' Batman is good because they know fucking him up screws over a whole bunch of other franchises and dynamics. People still get excited for his roster of villains, after all.


It's pretty clear that any build up to Justice League 2 is dead in the water.

 

[GrooveCommand]

As somebody who never really got into comic books, I gotta say that the majority of superhero movies I've seen in the last 10 years or so have been pretty terrible at face value. Way too much action, predictable story arcs. The same superhero movie algorithm again and again.

 

[SurrenderDorothy]

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That show doesn't exist.

;-;

 

[Deleted member 4034]

Tbf most superhero movies have been bad, not just DC. I think the bar for superhero movies is really low when its marvel and unreasonably high for DC.

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Define unreasonably high for DC. No seriously.

 

[Bleepey]

They had a plan, it's just a lot of audiences hated it and WB's impusilve and short sighted need to pay attention to the Moviebob's of the world did way more harm than good

 

[SOLDIER]

That show doesn't exist.

;-;

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This was going to be in my OP, but I left it out since it smacks of conspiracy theory.

But I honestly do believe the reason so many of these projects have directors dropping out of them is that in every single set, some asshole in a suit and tie comes in and makes an unreasonable request like

"Can Batgirl carve the bat symbol onto her arm while she masturbates thinking about Batman?"

Most of the time, the director will say "No, what? No, fuck you. What?" and they either leave the project or are kicked out of it.

But eventually they find somebody who will play ball, and that request will get diluted over time in that

"Okay, now it's just Batgirl implied to be masturbating and only carving the bat symbol into someone else's arm!"

"Fuck Batman" was not decided by a single director. That shit must have been passed around dozens of hands and gone through dozens of revisions before some idiot at the top decided it was worth putting in there.

And that's part of a big reason these DC movies have been the way they are. The majority of creative freedom doesn't come from the director.

 

[El Bombastico]

They had a plan, it's just a lot of audiences hated it and WB's impusilve and short sighted need to pay attention to the Moviebob's of the world did way more harm than good

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Yeah, they should've instead listened to the fanboys who think Rotten Tomatoes (partly owned by WB) has a Marvel Bias and who want the Snyder Cut released.

That SURELY would've sold more tickets...

 

[Schlorgan]

Tbf most superhero movies have been bad, not just DC. I think the bar for superhero movies is really low when its marvel and unreasonably high for DC.

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Define unreasonably high for DC. No seriously.

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Yes. Enlighten us please

 

[SOLDIER]

Seriously, who was "Fuck Batman" for?

Who is the asshole kid who really loves Robin and would absolutely lose his shit that Robin would finally tell Batman off as he stomps a guy's neck to death?

Who is this imaginary person that this show was made for?

 

[Deleted member 2085]

Captain Marvel looks great. Aquaman looks alright.

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lol I get it

 

[Deleted member 6949]

I'm just happy if a super hero movie is decent at this point, regardless of what universe it's in. I'll take Wonder Woman or Logan over the shittier MCU movies like Dr. Strange or Thor 2 or whatever. Right now Shyamalan has the only unimpeachable super hero universe.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

Shazam is definitely the direction they should be going with future movies. Make the movies more fun, not all dark and depressing all the time. I know Batman fits the dark mood but Superman and others don't need to be all dark and serious all the time.

Then hire better writers and directors who respect the source material more.

 

[Pilgrimzero]

BvS was amazing and WW was just good?

Alrighty.

 

[Kthulhu]

Shazam looks pretty good IMO.

 

[Liquidsnake]

The Nolan days seem like so long ago.

 

[Skii]

Define unreasonably high for DC. No seriously.

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Yeah, they should've instead listened to the fanboys who think Rotten Tomatoes (partly owned by WB) has a Marvel Bias and who want the Snyder Cut released.

That SURELY would've sold more tickets...

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I feel like a lot of marvel and DC movies are average but the marvel movies somehow come off as masterpieces whilst the DC ones are trash. Most are as good as each other personally.

 

[xxracerxx]

I feel like a lot of marvel and DC movies are average but the marvel movies somehow come off as masterpieces whilst the DC ones are trash. Most are as good as each other personally.

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Masterpieces? I mean they are true to their characters generally, but many of their films are not considered masterpieces...hell maybe all of them.

 

[CopyOfACopy]

I love DC / WB, always room for the campy / schlocky stuff

 

[Deleted member 11093]

And it depresses me so much. Batman V. Superman is an amazing film in that the longer that time passes, the angrier I get thinking about it. Scrambling to throw some emergency reshoots into Justice League and pretend that "See, Superman was a nice guy who cared about humanity the whole time!" didn't cut it.

Now comes the part where people frantically respond with "But Wonder Woman though!!!" Yeah, and? It was a good movie. Not an amazing movie but very good and I own a copy of it. The sequel will probably be as good....I mean, I really really hope so.

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1. Batman V Superman fucking sucked, we've been over this, it sucked, it's a bad movie, it's irredeemable.
2. Wonder Woman was an awful movie played by a shitty actress.

Their entire universe is dumpster fire.

 

[Strike]

Becoming? It's been pretty clear for a while. BvS should've been a slam dunk.

 

[SOLDIER]

I love DC / WB, always room for the campy / schlocky stuff

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Campy/Shlocky was Batman & Robin.

I miss Batman & Robin compared to this shit.

 

[Bleepey]

Yeah, they should've instead listened to the fanboys who think Rotten Tomatoes (partly owned by WB) has a Marvel Bias and who want the Snyder Cut released.

That SURELY would've sold more tickets...

Click to shrink...

I could probably list way more double standards than shit like RT being biased and honestly it wouldn't even be in my top 3 reasons for different reception , I think people just don't like Zack Snyder or are huge hypocrites for their reasons, but that's a rant for another thread. I think Marvel movies are judged differently and that's why shit like Thor 2, Iron man 2 and similar get a pass despite being very underwhelming films. As for the Snyder cut, have you seen it? I don't know if it truly exists and honest it's never truly concerned me.What I can be sure of is that, people's complaints with the editing of Suicide Squad were due to editing brought about by the reception of BVS and trying to listen to them, and JL's mandated 2 hr run time, crowbarred jokes, schizophrenic tone were due to many complaints from BVS. I don't even hate JL or SS much for that matter but IMO director's original visions would have been more consistent and probably better.

But the point of the the thread and my post was that WB had no plan. Considering people criticised BVS for having too much foreshadowing for an expanded universe whether it's Batman and his relationship with live Joker's and dead Robins, his history with Gotham PD, Lex and his father etc etc. I think it's hard to argue that they didn't have a plan, it's just you didn't like the tone and direction they were taking.

 

[Praetorpwj]

This was going to be in my OP, but I left it out since it smacks of conspiracy theory.

But I honestly do believe the reason so many of these projects have directors dropping out of them is that in every single set, some asshole in a suit and tie comes in and makes an unreasonable request like

"Can Batgirl carve the bat symbol onto her arm while she masturbates thinking about Batman?"

Most of the time, the director will say "No, what? No, fuck you. What?" and they either leave the project or are kicked out of it.

But eventually they find somebody who will play ball, and that request will get diluted over time in that

"Okay, now it's just Batgirl implied to be masturbating and only carving the bat symbol into someone else's arm!"

"Fuck Batman" was not decided by a single director. That shit must have been passed around dozens of hands and gone through dozens of revisions before some idiot at the top decided it was worth putting in there.

And that's part of a big reason these DC movies have been the way they are. The majority of creative freedom doesn't come from the director.

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This is from the Teen Titan show? What does that have to do with the movies? Its a marketing ploy to get people talking and guess what it worked. And actually the 'big reason' behind the problems of the DC movies thus far is the creative freedom given to one director which was utterly abused. He's gone; others are going in a new direction; I'm interested to see where they go.

 

[Deleted member 11626]

They should take some of their lower tier characters and make a few movies with them. Take the time to make them good and see if they are hits. Then slowly integrate the popular ones. DC really needs to reboot. There is no hope for what they have now

 

[SSPssp]

Seriously, who was "Fuck Batman" for?

Who is the asshole kid who really loves Robin and would absolutely lose his shit that Robin would finally tell Batman off as he stomps a guy's neck to death?

Who is this imaginary person that this show was made for?

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Kylo Ren?

 

[SOLDIER]

Kylo Ren?

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There's no way Kylo wouldn't be a hardcore Batman fan. If anything, he'd have Batman stomp on Robin's neck.

 

[SSPssp]

There's no way Kylo wouldn't be a hardcore Batman fan. If anything, he'd have Batman stomp on Robin's neck.

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I want to see this movie.

 

[Denamitea]

Becoming?

Wonder Woman was alright, tho and I enjoyed Justice League in a so bad it's good way.

 

[Wingfan19]

It's come out recently through Synder's Vero comments that when he started Man of Steel and went to BvS, he didn't really think about a big Marvel-like extended universe. He wanted to tell his own story over 3-5 movies and end it. Not have it continue for 10 years and 20+ movies. Hence why he kills off many supporting characters and has a 50 yr old Batman. WB decided to change that plan after seeing that Marvel money. The problem is, they weren't strict with Zack and forward enough to make him change his plan before BvS went into production. Zack's MoS, BvS, and what his original JL 1+2 movies could've been their own little self contained story and if it was presented as a small arc that would get reset after they were done, I think many people wouldn't be as harsh on them. Trying to squeeze those movies into a big on going universe is what's souring people's outlook on the DCEU.

It appears that Hamata is now putting his foot down and trying to get this back on track, which is pretty clear with how Shazam and WW84 are coming along. Plus, with a push towards more women lead films (BoP, Supergirl, Batgirl, etc), you can see that's how they're trying to be different than Marvel.

 

[Fridge Freezer]

The way they structured it was so rushed. Flash, Aqua and the android guy feel like B characters - and I guess they are but so were Iron Man/Thor/Cap once upon a time.

BVS should have been post a Batman film, killing Superman here I think was a big error (it wasnt even a major talking point); Wonder Woman/Aqua/Man of Steel 2 the. Justice League - only now kill off Superman.

Slew of films - Batman 2; Wonder Woman 2; Flash; someone else; then Justice League 2 brings back Superman (side note its kinda shocking how Clarks return is just a plot shrug).

Behind all this the Suicide Squad stuff plays out and we eventually get a SS VS JL film.

DC seemed to want to pretend they were 5-6 years earlier and rushed a lot to make up time. JL is a bizarre film for me as well, its not even 'bad' just not a mass audience film imo.

 

[Pandora012]

Seriously, who was "Fuck Batman" for?

Who is the asshole kid who really loves Robin and would absolutely lose his shit that Robin would finally tell Batman off as he stomps a guy's neck to death?

Who is this imaginary person that this show was made for?

Click to shrink...

I mean, I liked the trailers tone, and didn't care about what Robin said. Though the execution of it was uhh not the best.

So what's your complaint other than Batman apparently not being Robin's favorite person. Which is not unlike him depending on his phase.

 

[SOLDIER]

I mean, I liked the trailers tone, and didn't care about what Robin said. Though the execution of it was uhh not the best.

So what's your complaint other than Batman apparently not being Robin's favorite person. Which is not unlike him depending on his phase.

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Same complaint I've had with the majority of modern DC.

Darkness.

No Parents.

 

[Jessie]

Lotsa straw man building here.

4 bad movies is a bad look, but they already ousted their old DC leadership. Give Hamada a chance.

 

[Medalion]

I don't know why people have any modicum of faith left at this point. Does no one else see what they're doing?

-Announces upcoming movie with big-name director attached
-Announces big-name actor attached to same movie
-May or may not be part of the current DCCU, we don't know

This has been their approach for years now, and the majority of the time the end result tends to be:

-Big-name director leaves project
-Big-name actor is still attached...maybe...probably.

It's gotten to the point that I literally don't care which director/actor combination gets announced next. Swamp Thing by Steven Spielberg! Yeah, get excited about that! It'll definitely happen at some point!

This isn't a new thing either, this has been their practice for decades now. Look at the startlingly high number of big name projects that got cancelled (Justice League Mortal). You can't argue that they're being careful and taking their time at this point...they just have no goddamn clue what to do with some of the world's most popular superheroes.

And it depresses me so much. Batman V. Superman is an amazing film in that the longer that time passes, the angrier I get thinking about it. Scrambling to throw some emergency reshoots into Justice League and pretend that "See, Superman was a nice guy who cared about humanity the whole time!" didn't cut it.

Now comes the part where people frantically respond with "But Wonder Woman though!!!" Yeah, and? It was a good movie. Not an amazing movie but very good and I own a copy of it. The sequel will probably be as good....I mean, I really really hope so.

But so what? One good movie after a truckload of disappointments. One good movie when the competition has pumped out over 20. Meanwhile, their two biggest icons (Batman and Superman) are in a state of purgatory where people have had to witness the single worst depictions of both characters and we still have no idea if the current actors are going to stay, or if the whole thing will get a reboot (which I keep praying for), or....hey look, a Joker Trilogy is coming up! Big name director! Pay attention to that! Jingle the keys!

I don't think I've seen a single property stumble about in confusion and stupidity as much as the DC Cinematic Universe.

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Their TV division is also suffering when it was once their strongest suit