Everyone Wants To Be Like Marvel Part 1: DC
Marvel Studios and their plan for a cinematic universe where everyone’s favorite superheroes co-exist and can team up for big event films such as The Avengers, as well as have their own individual movie series might have sounded crazy at the beginning. Yet, nearly seven years and ten big blockbuster films later (ranging from Iron Man to Thor to Guardians of the Galaxy)—which have made a total of $7 billion dollars at the box office, ranking them among other big franchises like Harry Potter and the 007 films—the word success doesn’t even begin to define what they have done. They have changed the landscape that movies—specifically comic book movies—are being made in.
This three-part series will compare and contrast how other studios who own comic-based properties are trying to make their own cinematic universe, and whether they are succeeding or not.
I think it’s best to start with their biggest rival: DC Comics, which is owned by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Coca-Cola or Pepsi? Adidas or Puma? Microsoft or Apple? Marvel or DC? All feared rivals for decades, most people are on one side or the other.
Unlike Marvel Studios where a few of their major characters (Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic 4) were sold to other studios, preventing them from using them until they get the rights back, Warner Bros. owns everything DC when it comes to film. They still have the rights to everyone from the comics and can easily make a Justice League movie if they wanted. In fact, that’s what they have in mind. The process though, has been rather shaky.
DC planned to kick off their new cinematic universe with Man of Steel back in 2013. Everything seemed to fall perfectly into place. They had visionary director Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300) at the helm. Christopher Nolan, who had just finished his Dark Knight trilogy the year before—and as a result, had a very loyal fan following—was producing. David Goyer (writer of Batman Begins) was writing off a story by Christopher Nolan and brother Jonathan. What could go wrong?
Not everything went wrong; but not everything went right, either.
Warner Bros. wanted Man of Steel to be a billion dollar hit; it made a little more than 600 million. They wanted Man of Steel to be critically acclaimed; it got mixed reviews. They thought comic book fans would accept Man of Steel with open arms; but there was equal love and hate from fans. They wanted an Avengers reaction; they got another Superman Returns.
Still, they are going on with this universe.
Snyder is going to direct Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is due out in March of 2016. It is, at once, one of the most anticipated and dreaded films of all-time. The cast from Man of Steel will return, with Henry Cavill’s Superman going against Ben Affleck’s Batman. The script is being written by Affleck’s friend Chris Terrio who he worked with on the Academy Award-winning Argo, which Affleck also directed. Other cast members include Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) as Lex Luthor, Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious) as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones) as Aquaman, veteran thespian Jeremy Irons as Alfred, and relatively unknown Ray Fisher as Cyborg.
In line for release after Batman vs. Superman, DC also got several films in development including: Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer (End Of Watch, Fury) in August 2016;
Wonder Woman in June 2017; Justice League in November 2017; The Flash with Ezra Miller as the Scarlet Speedster in March 2018, Aquaman in July 2018, Shazam with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to be playing the film’s villain Black Adam in April 2019; a second Justice League movie in June 2019; a Cyborg film in April 2020; and a Green Lantern reboot in June 2020.
With all this planning, they are way ahead of the other competitors and I don’t blame them. They seem to be doing the reverse of what Marvel is doing—having the big event films like Justice League first, establishing characters in those films, then spinning them off into separate franchises.
Will their plan succeed? Only time will tell. We are still a year-and-a-half away from Batman vs. Superman and we don’t know yet whether it will fix the mistakes of Man of Steel or continue the same problems.
Either way, comic book fans and filmgoers alike are hoping for the best to come out of their situation.
Next time: 20th Century Fox, with X-Men and The Fantastic Four.
