According to BadassDigest, Variety ran a report today that claimed that Warner Brothers is now holding off on committing to Justice League until after Man of Steel is released. Apparently the suits at WB want to make sure Man of Steel is a hit before they go ahead and green light their DC team up film. In some ways, mostly on the business side, this decision makes some sense. However to me it just feels incredibly cowardly and timid. It kind of demonstrates just how inept WB is when it comes to properly handling this incredibly valuable property they have with DC.
Let’s be honest here for a moment. Besides Nolan’s Dark Knight films, what other films featuring a DC comics character has been successful in the last 10 years? None really. WB has yet to successfully re-launch Superman in theaters and Green Lantern was a box office flop a few years ago. They have never been able to get various scripts, written by some pretty good writers, for Wonder Woman or The Flash to full production. The only thing they have managed to do right with DC characters can be found in their animation division. The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 and 2, Batman: Year One, and All Star Superman are all very good films in their own right and handle the source material with care and respect. In fact, I would argue that The Dark Knight Returns is a better overall film than Nolan’s last in his series.
If only WB could take the approach their animation division takes and apply it to the live action films based on these characters. It really is a good roster of characters to draw from: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, Lobo, The Green Arrow, Aquaman. And those are just the first tier characters. There are many second tier characters that would both make interesting additions to the cinematic universe and be able to produce their own compelling stand alone films. The point is that the DC universe is very rich, as rich I would say as Marvel’s. So there really shouldn’t be any apprehension on WB’s part, right?
The other problem with WB is that their approach for creating a shared cinematic DC universe is deeply flawed right from the start. The wise sages at WB decided that they would not follow the model of their direct competitor, Marvel, when it came to building a shared comic universe of their own. How much of this rejection of Marvel’s model was due to jealousy, resentment, and a misplaced sense of stubborn pride is uncertain. You would have to believe that some egos came into play with this decision by those in halls of Warner Brothers.
Instead, WB had decided they were going to approach this in the exact opposite way as Marvel. They would release the team up film (Justice League) first and then spin each character off into solo film adventures. They felt it wiser to introduce their perhaps lesser known, read:more box office risky, characters in a team up film rather than in their own stand alone ones. This would make sense until you look at what Marvel did.
They took a second tier comic character by the name of Iron Man and used him as the foundation to their plans for a shared Marvel universe. It proved to be a success as the character of Iron Man became a pop culture phenom, moving from obscurity to prominence, and the film went on to be a worldwide blockbuster. Sure it could be argued that Robert Downey Jr. had much to do with Iron Man’s success, but ultimately it began with Marvel making the brave choice to go with Iron Man. They had the courage to take a risk and make a film based on one of their lesser known characters. They picked the right talent behind and in front of the camera and were incredibly supportive of that talent. Warner Brothers could stand to take a good look at how Marvel did it. I think if they approached it in the same way they could make successful standalone films for their lesser known characters like Flash and Wonder Woman. Characters they claim are too hard to adapt or too risky for stand alone adventures.
I do feel it is time for WB to put their sense of pride aside and embrace the model Marvel used. It worked, simple as that. No one, other than media and industry types, will care or even notice that WB copied Marvel. No, average moviegoers and comic fans alike will be pleased to have quality comic book films featuring characters from both Marvel and DC. Right now the suits at Warner Brothers can turn a move that seems cowardly and turn it into a stroke of brilliance. They should take this time while they are waiting on the release of Man of Steel and really research and look again to see if the Marvel model could work for them, and if so just how they would approach it. There is still hope here that WB can come to their senses and take the road that will best serve both the DC universe on film and their own financial goals with that universe.
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