With his films Man of Steel and – more specifically – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Zack Snyder laid out the template for Warner Bros.’ DC Extended Universe, both in terms of the casting of its main heroes for Justice League, and the overall look and feel of the cinematic universe.
It’s fair to say that Snyder’s vision has divided fans, with many criticising the films for being dour, dark and brooding – something which Warner Bros. itself has addressed by promising to take Justice League in a lighter direction.
Snyder has of course stepped back from his directing duties on Justice League, with Joss Whedon taking over following the untimely passing of Snyder’s daughter. And according to a report at Mashable, Snyder and his wife and producing partner Deborah Snyder will have much less involvement with the DCEU moving forward.
If rumours are to be believed, executives are less concerned with the negative critical reaction to Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad (which the Snyders executive produced), and more worried about their tendency to drive up budgets, as well as a desire within DC Films to freshen up the creative direction following the success of Wonder Woman.
Apparently, Snyder will remain credited as an executive producer on the likes of Aquaman, Suicide Squad 2 and Flashpoint, although he will have very limited creative input moving forward and is already looking at setting up non-DC movies at the studio.
Meanwhile, the site also claims that David Ayer’s involvement with Gotham City Sirens is now in question; the Suicide Squad spinoff wasn’t listed as part of Warner’s DC slate at Comic-Con and during his own Bright panel at SDCC, Ayer seemingly had a little dig at Warner Bros. when he stated that: “I don’t think people realize the situation filmmakers face. [Bright] isn’t like, some bullshit standard issue studio PG-13 movie. I was able to do some real shit here.”
As part of the shake-up behind the scenes of the DCEU, it seems that DC Films co-chief Geoff Johns will be turned to Joss Whedon as a major part of the DC creative team alongside Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, Aquaman helmer James Wan and Matt Reeves, who is attached to direct The Batman and is currently riding high of the success of his two Planet of the Apes movies.
What do you make of these latest DC rumours? Are you feeling confident about the future of the DCEU? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
Originally published July 26, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
