DCU’s Batman, Superman movies will use comics to counter Marvel

We’ve been here before: A film studio, eyeing Marvel Studios’ ridiculous track record of success, announces a similarly ambitious plan with the aim of going from zero to The AvengersThe Dark Universe will continue to evolve over the next 5-10 years. It was this that the Dark Universe began. This is what gave rise to the Dark Universe. BloodshotMovie that once was supposed to bring more. A similar DOA Hasbro universe has so far only brought to nothing. Snake Eyes. This week, a new milestone was hit, as Marvel’s Distinguished Competition became the first company to boldly outline a cinematic universe Double.

After three months Suicide Squad And Guardians of the Galaxy James Gunn, writer and director was named co-CEO at DC Studios along with Peter Safran. The pair revealed the initial stage of their plans for 10 years of DC movie production. It’s the second time DC has done this, following the slow-motion collapse of its initial plans in 2014, now colloquially known as the Snyderverse. This song and dance is getting old, and preemptive exhaustion to Gunn calling the first of his plan for DC movies and TV “Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters” is perfectly reasonable. It’s the worst way to introduce an audience to a “universe,” yet companies keep doing it, because they’ve cultivated an expectation among fans that they will be treated like investors. And if they are expected to show up for a decade’s worth of movies? Maybe they are.

Push past the corporate entitlement that can come with a list of superhero movies, and there’s some really promising stuff about the direction this week’s announcements imply. Regardless of how one feels about Gunn’s track record, he is someSomething the mega-franchIse era of superhero cinema hasn’t really had before: a genuine creative in the driver’s seat, doing a lot of messaging about how telling stories matters first. That could be bullshit — this whole thing might not pan out, falling apart like it fell apart the first time — but there is a bit of care here that we haven’t seen before. Gunn said that one film was the exception. Superman: Legacy, has a release date, and everything else will come when it’s ready.

Image: Evan “Doc” Shaner/DC Comics

A Superman film as Gunn’s opening salvo is a ballsy move. It’s historically the top-tier DC comic book superhero Hollywood has had the most trouble with, and hinging a massive plan on suddenly getting it right comes across as a pretty bananas idea. Superman must be a success right now in order for it to become a hit movie. Different, and Gunn seems to realize this — “You can’t be telling the same ‘good guy, bad guy, giant thing in the sky, good guys win’ story again,” he told press present at the slate’s announcement.

If Gunn’s stated allergy to formula bears out in the work, sticking the landing with a distinctive Superman film could give the later DC Studios films license to be even bigger departures as they go along. These are the pitchings. Are different, if only in how they appear to do something the MCU can’t really do anymore: adapt comic books.

Gunn’s adaptation choices all hinge on either specific story arcs or characters with definitive touch points and little variance in their history. This is the pitch for DCU Batman’s film. The Brave and the Bold, cites Grant Morrison’s tenure on Batman comics and the Robin they introduced to the canon. Supergirl: Woman of TomorrowHere’s a direct lift from the miniseries by Tom King & Bilquis Evely, which is also one of our top picks for best comics last year. The Authority, a sarcastic take-no prisoners superteam has largely survived in much the same way they were presented in Bryan Hitch and Warren Ellis’ landmark comic. And Swamp Thing’s deep roots in Southern Gothic and occult horror have been a fixture since Alan Moore et al. reinvented a once basic monster in a now legendary lynchpin of DC’s mature readers heyday of the late ’80s to mid-’90s.

Image: Tom King, Bilquis Evely/DC Comics

Gunn and his brain trust have plenty of options. An array of comics written by equally distinct filmmakers might result in a DC film universe that is truly diverse and rich. It is not possible to accomplish this on all levels of the MCU.

Marvel Studios’ movies are now able to maintain a dense continuity, as well as a house style and cosmology to which all future installments have to conform. In this stage, comics are stripped for parts as they prop up the MCU, and it would be nice for its competitor to distinguish itself by doing the inverse — making films that prop up the grand variety of DC’s much longer and more varied history.

But what’s best might be something Gunn didn’tAnnounce: An Avengers-style crossover. Perhaps there’s one in the bag that isn’t being shared yet, as Gunn did say this was only part of the new DCU plan. This omission along with the focus on scripts and stories strongly suggest that the next DCU will be a standalone one. It is more connected through consistent characters moving and coming, and less dependent upon plot. Because that’s truly the best way a DCU can differentiate from Marvel: by offering an array of varied films with familiar faces that audiences can drop in and out of without missing much. No sagas or phases — just a good time.