Anghus Houvouras on Warner Bros.’ key ingredient to the DC Cinematic Universe…
Warner Bros. has found themselves in an indefensible position ever since Marvel Studios entered the game and schooled them on the art of the cinematic universe. They’re an easy punching bag these days, seeing as Marvel game them a three decade head start back when Superman and Batman were the most iconic and dominant cinematic superheroes.
That all changed in 2008 when Iron Man came swooping into cinemas planting the seeds for the current crop of Marvel Movies we are enjoying. Ever since Nick Fury first uttered the words “…the Avengers initiative” in that now famous post-credits sequences, the film fans have been lining up, knives out, taking shots at Warner Bros. for failing to capitalize on Marvel’s success.
Some of the criticisms are totally fair. Warner Bros. has spent too long on the sidelines trying to determine a strategy leaving hundreds of millions on the table. Back in 2013 it felt like they had finally picked a course of action when they announced the follow-up to the somewhat successful Man of Steel would be Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Even though reactions to Man of Steel were polarizing, the studio finally picked a direction and would double down on Zack Snyder.
It’s still far too early to be writing obituaries for the DC Comics based movies, but recent behind the scenes photos from their second outing seems to reveal the key ingredient in their shared cinematic universe:
Batman.
It makes sense; taking their most popular character and using him to anchor fledgling franchises. Suicide Squad will be a much easier mainstream sell with The Joker and Batman. Maybe Warner Bros. should apply this logic to their other DC solo movies. You could give Batman some scuba gear and have him appear in Aquaman (just don’t forget his Bat shark repellent). The first Green Lantern movie was a dud, but I’ll bet if you put Batman in a space suit you’d have audiences lining up opening weekend. Will anyone go see a solo Wonder Woman movie? I’ll bet they would if Batman was her boyfriend. The entire DC Cinematic Universe could be one giant, multi-million dollar adaptation of The Brave and the Bold.
Batman. Batman. Batman. I just love saying the word. Batman. It makes every sentence better. It’s like smoking: it makes everything cooler. Because this is Batman’s world, god dammit. And you’re going to see him appear in every DC movie from now until Doomsday, who coincidentally appears in the next Batman movie… I mean DC Cinematic Universe movie. Oh, who am I kidding.
This is the Batman Cinematic Universe.
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker and the co-host of Across the Pondcast. Follow him on Twitter.
https://youtu.be/yIuEu1m0p2M?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published June 11, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
