DC Movies: Changes as Warner Bros Signal A New Approach

Noah Zuckerman

June 8, 2017

DC finally has its first bonafide hit in Wonder Woman. Having grossed $254 million worldwide and sitting at a solid 93% on Rotten Tomatoes as of right now, Wonder Woman has defied the expectations of many and has proved that DC can make a good movie. That being said, it is in no way a sign that their future movies will be better. This is especially considering Justice League was in post-production long before this film, the last three films haven’t been received well, and there’s a lot of drama behind The Flash production.

Even considering all those factors, DC is no longer taking the reactionary approach they once had. By this, I mean that each of their previous films changed drastically based on various factors, like Suicide Squad turning into a cheap Guardians of the Galaxy knock-off.

There’s also been and continues to be shakeups of leadership involved in the DC movies. Recently, Zack Snyder stepped down due to a family tragedy and in his place, we got Joss Whedon, famous for his contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With current behind-the-scenes negotiations going on with Patty Jenkins, director of Wonder Woman, she could very well be a major new player as well.

With all that in mind, it’s now being reported that Warner Bros is waiting to see how Justice League does before moving forward with more movies in the DCEU. This is the smartest possible decision they could make in their situation. Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad were all critical and commercial flops (compared to Wonder Woman). With Wonder Woman becoming their first hit in this series, it’s safe to say that movie will have a huge influence moving forward. However, Warner Bros now recognizes that one movie doesn’t represent a whole series and that there’s still a lot in the air surrounding this whole universe of films.

Justice League is probably the biggest factor that’s up in the air for DC movies. It’s a movie that’s very hard to predict, at least when it comes to success. It will no doubt open well considering it’s the very first on-screen appearance of DC’s most popular team, but Batman v. Superman opened well too and we all saw how that turned out. Because of this, the best decision for Warner Bros is to wait and see.

Hopefully, this new approach and team in charge of the DC Extended Universe can keep the franchise afloat. I personally love the DC television shows, but I can’t deny the appeal of seeing these characters done justice without spreading their stories thin over 23 episode seasons and with movie-quality visuals. I’ve never been the biggest fan of the DCEU movies, but if they can all be as good if not better than Wonder Woman going forward, then sign me up.