Anghus Houvouras with 9 ways to save the DC Extended Universe…
I don’t require much. Just a producer credit on every Warner Bros. DC movie, a balloon payment of $16 million dollars in gold cougarans, and 8% of the merchandising. Wait. Sorry. Got ahead of myself. Before the fans and Warner Bros. shower me in warm, glistening adulation they probably want to hear my amazing, borderline genius ideas on how to save the DC Extended Universe.
Before I unveil my nine part strategy to turn Warner Bros.’ DC movies from languishing, critically panned, polarizing pictures into a money-making, universally loved, acclaimed blockbusters… let me say this:
Personally, I’ve enjoyed Zack Snyder’s DC movies as grotesque monstrosities. Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice are two of the most opulent assaults of sight and sound I’ve ever seen. I’d love to see what Zack Snyder does with Justice League for no other reason than I want to see him finish his gonzo, sense killing trilogy. However, I realize fans (and quite possibly the studios) want to see these characters stripped from Snyder’s deathly grip faster than you can say “Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man“.
So in the interest of giving everybody what they want, I have put aside my personal feelings about the current state of the DC Cinema and engineer a strategy to SAVE THE DC EXTENDED UNIVERSE.
1. Stop calling it the DC Extended Universe
I don’t know where the phrase DC EXTENDED UNIVERSE comes from, but it’s awful. Was there a vote on this? I don’t remember being consulted. It’s a clunky, awkward brand that makes little sense. Why is it Extended? What is it ‘extending’ from? Marvel is smart enough to have embrace the phrase ‘The Marvel Cinematic Universe’. It’s all right there in the brand. The word ‘Cinematic’ gives their movie universe an air of importance, a whiff of quality. The DC Extended Universe at best sounds like some kind of warped, twisted extension of beloved heroes like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Wait a second. Maybe that’s an accurate description. Either way; can the Extended Universe moniker and go with ‘Movie’.
2. Have Ben Affleck direct a solo Batman movie
Here’s one weapon Warner Bros. has in their quiver, and proof that they can align the right stars when necessary. A Ben Affleck Batman movie is a great first step to help right the unsteady ship of the DC Movie Universe. The key here is putting quality talent in charge of these iconic characters. Affleck is absolutely the right choice to help get things moving in the right direction.
3. Fire Zack Snyder. Hire George Miller.
This one’s going to hurt a bit. The press and the fans are going to pick over the bloody corpse like feral sharks. “We told you!” they’ll cry. “Man of Steel was an abomination” they’ll yell, wiping the bits of chum away from their flapping gums. The first step to correcting this course is to take away the key figure of controversy. We’re already hearing these rumblings that there’s a CRISIS in the DC Movie Universe (snicker). You gave him two films and all the ingredients needed to make something palatable. The fans and are calling his cinematic culinary creations warm garbage. Time to move on.
In his place, grab George Miller. He has experience developing the Justice League from his own ill fated feature. With the massive success of Mad Max: Fury Road, he once again proves he’s a director capable of handling well developed character and mind blowing visuals. There’s no better choice for these films.
As a consolation prize, give Zack Snyder the Aquaman movie.
4. Cancel the Aquaman movie
200 million dollars on a movie starring Jason Mamoa? Yikes. This was Warner Bros. boldest move when they first announced their intended slate. A massive underwater adventure movie sure sounds like fun, but you’ve attached a star who lacks the box office draw to make this film the worldwide smash it needs to be to justify the cost. Then again, I can’t think of anyone out there that could make Aquaman a monster success. Maybe Vinnie Chase, but I hear he’s directing now.
5. Get David Yates to direct Shazam
Another director already in the Warner Bros. stable is David Yates who helmed the final four Harry Potter films. I wrote last month about how Warner Bros. needs to tone down the dark and shine a little light into the DC Movie Universe with Shazam. Who better to handle the Mystical side of the DC Universe than Yates? A Shazam movie from the director of Harry Potter? That’s lightning in a bottle.
6. Get Edgar Wright to direct The Flash
Speaking of lightning, Warner Bros. has an AMAZING opportunity to distinguish themselves from the Marvel brand by hijacking Edgar Wright. Fans were excited to see Wright take on Marvel’s Ant-Man, but after being admonished for his inability to work under the Marvel mandate (i.e. make all the films tie together) Wright ended up an afterthought. The Flash is a perfect character and movie to get Edgar Wright back in the superhero saddle. We’ve seen what he can do blending humor and action with the Cornetto Trilogy and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. He’s a creative talent that could have an awful lot of fun in the DC action figure toy box. This idea was not mine, but the brilliant Oliver Davis, who will need to negotiate his own terms should Warner Bros. employ this strategy.
7. Get Jeff Nichols & Paul Greengrass to direct a DC Movie, fast
This one feels like second biggest no-brainer after George Miller on Justice League. Jeff Nichols has proven himself to be a real talent. He’s an unflinching filmmaker who is fast becoming the next real voice in blockbuster cinema. AND he’s already done several films for Warner Bros. including the most excellent Midnight Special. He’s ripe for a big budget breakout film. Imagine a Martian Manhunter film by Jeff Nichols, or Hellblazer. The same goes for Paul Greengrass, who at one point was going to take on Alan Moore’s masterpiece Watchmen. These are the kind of raw, uncompromising talents you need behind the lens if Warner Bros. wants to separate themselves from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
8. Get Tarsem to direct a Fourth World movie
Ok, this one won’t make Warner Bros. a whole lot of money (if any). However, it would be awesome to see Jack Kirby’s Apocalypse, New Genesis, and all the characters that inhabit it seen through the lens of Tarsem (The Fall, The Cell): a visionary director who hasn’t quite found his footing in the world of big budget studio films. Just give him four years, $200 million dollars, and a copy of The Fourth World Ominbus. Set a premiere date and get out-of-the-way. Don’t worry. If you lose money all you need to do is let Affleck do a second Batman movie.
9. More risks like Suicide Squad
If the DC Movie Universe is going to survive in its current form, it will require creative deviations that help it stand apart. Batman v Superman was an attempt at imitating the success Marvel saw with Avengers. It was thematically too similar and tonally too dark to appeal to a younger fan base. Suicide Squad has a far more organic team up premise and feels like something we haven’t seen before. There’s no denying what Marvel has done with their cinematic universe, which has been the product of intelligent design. Some of the DC movies are going to have to be derivative of the Marvel model. Making the super hero team up like Batman v Superman dark and brooding doesn’t make sense. By trying too hard to be different, a major portion of the ticket buying public (i.e. kids) got alienated. So make your Justice League movie as much like Avengers as possible, but then take a risk with a movie like Suicide Squad.
Mimic the ‘one for them, one for us’ mentality that many actors employ in their career. Do a crowd pleasing, four quadrant superhero movie where your heroes are allowed to *GASP* crack a smile or, god forbid, make a joke. Make a couple of superhero movies that make the experience look like having superpowers is fun. Then make some of your more extreme concepts like Suicide Squad that showcase the bad-ass side of the DC Movie Universe.
There you go. Nine ways to save the DC Extended Universe. What do you think?
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker and the co-host of Across the Pondcast. Follow him on Twitter.
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Originally published May 2, 2016. Updated November 29, 2022.
