Phoenix from the Ashes: The Failure of the DCEU and the Birth of the DCU

As my bank account dries out, sometimes movies become a bit harder to see and reviews fall through the cracks. As such, continuing other forms of review or retrospective become crucial to keeping the blog going. Now, as we start into the New Year, my first big post is about the recent fall of the DCEU, or the DC Extended Universe. The DCEU is in reference to DC Comics, with big characters such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash all being recognizeable to most. They also possess lesser known characters such as John Constantine, Jonah Hex, or even Detective Chimp. However, their attempt at forming live-action adaptations bombed hard at the box office and/or with critics. Why? Marvel made a killing in the same decade with their own attempts, pleasing audiences and critics even today (despite the idea that the MCU is overplayed). So, what happened that caused the fall of a studio to the point where a rebirth was necessary? To add to that, can the new universe succeed? Welcome back to Cinematic Histories and this is the death of the DCEU and the birth of the DCU.

The Rise of a Cinematic Universe (?): 2000-2014

DC was a very serious brand early on in the superhero genre. With Superman and Batman both having tons of high-grossing movies that sold tons of toys and tickets, this brand was in the game for a while. However, an early setback was the consequential milking of those two, with Superman 4 and Batman and Robin killing the properties for a while. While attempts to make connected movies began as early as 2000, even with hit director Tim Burton involved in a script, a combined film nor cinematic universe starter ever came. But, a diamond in the rough would lead to great success that would result in the possiblity being brought around again. Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins in 2006 would show us a dark, grim take on Batman that, while certainly not great, managed to win over audiences. A sequel in 2008, The Dark Knight, would change the genre and lead to several attempts to recreate the lightning-in-a-bottle that was its sequel. While I have mixed thoughts on Batman Begins and less than a love for The Dark Knight, I can admit how much these two films impacted superhero films. However, their attempts to start a cinematic universe were not working well. Nolan and Batman's actor Christian Bale weren't interested in cinematic universes even back then and the films they were releasing weren't exactly well done. Superman Returns, Jonah Hex, Green Lantern, and even Watchmen (yes, that's DC) were not doing well with either audiences or critics. These films were just passable to terrible depending on your own view and clearly wouldn't start a series let alone a shared universe. Thus, the decision was made after the release of The Dark Knight Rises in 2012. If Nolan wouldn't return to do Batman, then they would make a new incarnation and have him in their shared universe. The director of the Watchmen film, Zack Snyder, was seen as a clear choice to lead their new universe, having made a decently successful film that showed promise in a gritty new take on Superman. With the hiring of Henry Cavill, they had a Superman now too! Thus, the DCEU was born!

Early Years: 2014-2015

As the DCEU kicked off with Man of Steel, immediate issues began to arise. People took issue with this new, gritty take on Superman clearly inspired by Christopher Nolan. Zack Snyder's direction also left this Superman feeling flat and hollow, not connecting with audiences as he lacked clear personality minus just liking Lois Lane. If you cannot connect with Superman, you've messed up already, as the whole deal behind Superman is the fact that people choose to connect with his humanity. He's a regular guy who finds out he's a demigod alien that should help wherever he can. One of his first public appearances as a superhero features him gushing about how his mom made his suit. However, here, the choice was made to make Superman more tortured and moody as a whole. With his parents wanting him to now conceal his powers, it becomes unclear why his parents would want him to hide his abilities rather than use them to help others. The biggest issue people took was him killing Zod. Yeah, he did it in Superman 2, but this was him snapping someone's neck, not sending them into a pit they could likely escape from.

That being said, the movie did fairly well at the box office and was passable to audiences.

A cinematic universe would start based on this, with Wayne Tech being visible in the movie and Lexcorp being smashed by Superman's fight with Zod. Batman v Superman was announced in 2014, set for release in 2016 alongside a Suicide Squad movie. Now, all they had to do was cast Batman, Lex Luthor, the Suicide Squad and all the other super heroes who would get to show up in their future movies. But, immediately problems began arising with even castings. Ben Affleck, aka the butt end of jokes in Hollywood at the time, was cast as Batman. As his Daredevil was mocked and laughed at for quite a time, no one saw him as Batman. Then, Jesse Eisenberg was cast as Lex Luthor. Two poor choices for characters that should've been far easier to cast than expected. Then, the Suicide Squad cast rolls around. Will Smith as Deadshot, Jared Leto as Joker, Viola Davis as Waller; we were seeing some promise. Relative newcomer Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn was pretty well-done too. However, where we come into question with the casting was Jai Courtney as Boomerang and Cara Delevigne as Enchantress, both actors seeing their fair share of bombs prior to this and relatively no acting from Cara. That being said, it was cast, filmed, and ready to go by the time Batman v. Superman was gearing up marketing. They both marketed around the same time, with Batman v. Superman having one of the largest marketing campaigns of all time. The epic battle to end all battles. It even looked fairly good, the film showing off epic fight scenes, Ben Affleck as Batman looking pretty damn intimidating, and the first appearance of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. However, the film then came out and... oh dear.

The Big Bomb(s): 2016-2017

Dear God, no one could've seen this next part coming. Batman v. Superman bombed with critics and was lambasted by general audiences. On its massive $300 million budget, it barely made $800 million back, nowhere near enough to break even. A highly marketed movie such as this bombing? Unheard of. That being said, I've always made my comments about this film being god awful and, frankly, I have yet to change my mind. It's got Ben Affleck doing his best, some great fights, and even great performances from Jeremy Irons and the little we see of Gal Gadot. But, then the plot is nonsensical and the writing is a joke. The tone is so grim and unnecessarily serious that it ends up feeling comedic. The film was trashed so hard by critics, the upcoming Suicide Squad was affected. Their next film, supposed to be a soulful drama, got chopped apart and put back together as a "jukebox music comedy" with Deadpool stylization. Obviously, this was far from a success. Trashed by critics and laughed at by audiences, the film was derided for its casting, acting, and writing. Jared Leto's Joker would be especially mocked alongside the inclusion of characters Captain Boomerang, Katana, Diablo, and Killer Croc as essentially filler rather than real characters. However, the film would end up being the most successful film of the DCEU at the time, only costing $174 million and making $745 million back. This would luckily be a key factor in why the DCEU would be able to have some saving grace later, but, for right now, the new universe was in question as the recent critical bombs suddenly changed everything.

One film I won't mention in this section is Wonder Woman, as it will be explained in the next section. But, thanks to the previous two, the Justice League two-parter would now only be one film and was being given a facelift by Zack Snyder. It was fully cast as well, with Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher having appeared as Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg respectively in the previous film Batman v. Superman. Other castings would happen as the film was made, such as Willem Dafoe as Vulko, Aquaman's advisor, and even a surprise cameo from Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke, which was beyond a perfect casting. However, months into production, Zack Snyder backed away due to family tragedy. Seizing the opportunity, Warner Bros and DC executives took over production and hired Joss Whedon to redo everything in a more light-hearted tone similar to his MCU films. This would be the greatest mistake in the DCEU, with the film being even further lambasted upon its release in 2017. With again choppy editing and clearly rewritten dialogue, the film barely felt like a movie. On top of that, its hideous CGI and attempts to cover up Henry Cavill's mustache became the laughing point of superhero movies as even Deadpool began to mock the film's failure. By the end of the year, the DCEU was basically in a downwards spiral. However, better times were around the corner.

An Upwards Struggle: 2017-2021

With the release of Wonder Woman, DC films would finally start getting better on the whole. Wonder Woman came out in mid 2017 and was praised by critics and audiences for its well-balanced tone, excellent characters, and quite a bit of well-done action. After the stinker that was Justice League, they would release Aquaman nearly a year later and the film would come out to make a billion, the most money a DCEU movie had made before and since. On top of that, it was well-received by audiences and considered passable by critics. Shazam! would come out less than six months after and was highly praised by everyone. It was quirky and charming, with a bit of a dark bite of horror added in to make fans of director David Sandberg's prior movies have something to enjoy. That being said, it didn't do well at the box office due to its location between Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame. While it was certainly not a great opportunity, it was a show of the DCEU's staying power. However, the struggles were far from over. The marketing for Birds of Prey as a Harley Quinn film would divide audiences and cause the film to bomb hard, despite receiving positive reviews. Additionally, COVID hit right after, causing any future movies to be delayed. The next release after COVID would be Wonder Woman 1984. If they had a surefire hit on their hands, they could salvage the brand and make a killing. Unforunately, it began to kill their brand and barely salvaged their budget due to middling reviews and its controversial plot that unintentionally promoted assault of a kind.

One strange spot was the release of the Snyder Cut in 2021. Petitioned for years with Zack Snyder teasing away at it and attempting to get it off the ground to get the original version of the Justice League film out on the public while fans harassed and ridiculed those who had any arguments with them. The film itself was not demanded publicly but by those who felt the need to get it released due to the travesty of the actual film. Finally, WB bent the knee and set it for release on HBO Max in 2021. Zack Snyder released a four-hour cut that had completed CGI, full shots, actual character arcs, and a solid narrative. It received far better reviews than the original cut and was praised by fans who had expected it for a long while. While having a runtime that far exceeded any necessary plot and being R-rated for no real reason, the film did do well with audiences, although it received less than stellar views on the site. However, this was not the last true success of the DCEU.

The last true success of the DCEU would be the most unexpected. With Suicide Squad's sequel languishing in a developmental hell for nearly three years, eventually, the script was redone by James Gunn, who was too busy with Marvel to direct. However, his firing would set the new direction for the DCEU, as he would take over directing the new Suicide Squad title with a recent opening in his schedule. He started even casting for the new film. With Will Smith unavailable to shoot, originally Idris Elba was hired to play Deadshot in his place. However, the role was reworked so Will could return in the future. The film was quickly filled with stars of all kinds, with Elba, John Cena, Daniela Melchior, David Dastmalchian, Michael Rooker, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, Flula Borg, Mayling Ng, Sean Gunn, Pete Davidson, Nathan Fillion and eventually Sylvester freakin' Stallone added as Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Ratcatcher 2, Polka-Dot Man, Savant, Thinker, Sol Soria, Javelin, Mongal, Weasel, Blackguard, TDK, and King Shark. Returning were Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, and Joel Kinnamen as Harley, Captain Boomerang, Waller, and Rick Flag. The biggest reason I mention this cast in full is because of how incredible this next movie would end up being.

The Suicide Squad was marketed as a big-budget R-rated action comedy with heavy focus on the Suicide Squad's purpose: death. The film released to a middling box office, but won over everyone with its comedy, satire, and clear focus on the terrible people in it. Its writing was incredibly sharp and direction tightly-knit. There were clear standouts as well, with Idris Elba, David Dastmalchian, and Daniela Melchior singled out with praise. One character was so praised that James Gunn began shooting a new show called "Peacemaker", focused on John Cena's character of the same name. The show would focus on his dealings after the cliffhanger ending involving him saving the world. Eventually, Gunn would be hired as the new head of DC Films, focusing on giving a direction to the dwindling universe, but the damage was sadly already done.

A Painful Death: 2021-2023

Despite a positive reception to the film, The Suicide Squad would prove to be the last true success in the DCEU. Peacemaker could hardly be considered connected and both Joker and The Batman were kept separate from the matter. I'll mention them in the next section. That being said, the next few films were Shazam 2, Aquaman 2, Blue Beetle, Batgirl, Black Adam and, of course, The Flash. I'll go over the first four before directing my attention to the horrendous production of The Flash. Shazam 2 was the second of the bunch to finish production, with it achieving an early 2023 release date. The production was quiet, but the reviews were not. It was far from a darling at that or the box office, with it failing harder than the prior to recoup its budget. Even Wonder Woman couldn't save its box office. However, this was in large part due to its restrictions from the ego of the biggest wrestler in Hollywood: Dwayne Johnson. His interference in having Black Adam not show up anywhere near his normal hero resulted in the ego grudge match of a century: WB producers versus Johnson. He would attempt to restart the DCEU with his Black Adam at the center of it all. He would even get fairly close, with Henry Cavill coming back for Black Adam at long last. However, as the film released to middling reviews and a terrible box office, any plans to continue his universe quickly died. It was such a blow to his ego that he returned to Fast and Furious and has now joined A24 for his own film.

The next two films were Batgirl and Blue Beetle. Both finished production without hiccups and were slotted for 2023 releases. Batgirl even had the perfect date lined up to get traction as a superhero summer blockbuster. It had newcomer Leslie Grace set for Batgirl and Brendan Fraser in a big return to film as Firefly and promising new directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who just got off of Bad Boys for Life. However, it never released. Batgirl would be pulled at WB, with its usage of Michael Keaton as Batman (a character supposed to show up in The Flash and return in future DCEU movies) being cited as a big reason for its cancellation. This cancellation would receive large outrage and mockery from even its own stars, with Fraser actively making fun of the fact that they cancelled it. Blue Beetle was the other film planned for that summer and it came out to an iffy box office with relatively positive reviews. Despite its failure, people loved Jaime Reyes and his family.

The Flash gets its own paragraph purely on merit of its horrific production history. Originally slotted for 2018, it got delayed time and time again until 2023 finally saw its release. Bouncing between several directors, its own star became embroiled in controversy as Ezra Miller became a news story for quite some time due to criminal intent. I will not detail their own failures as a human here, but instead leave that for another day. Its cast was even changed several times as actors left and joined. Eventually, the plan was a multiversal film paying homage to Flashpoint which would allow a reset of the universe leading into a rebirth. Michael Keaton would return as Batman alongside Ben Affleck. The film finally began filming in 2021-2022 and released in June of 2023. Its many cameos and homages to previous Batman films would not save the film as people found its plot confusing and hard to follow. Ironically, Flash himself would be highly praised as one of the best parts of the movie alongside Sasha Calle's Supergirl. The film, originally set to reset the universe with Michael Keaton or Ben Affleck as Batman based on the plans, eventually ended with the cast of the DCEU banished to the universe of George Clooney, with Ezra Miller no longer allowed to show their face. This would be the ultimate end of the DCEU, but what of the DC films to come?

Rebirth: 2019-2023

With a clear idea to reboot coming as early as 2019, the vision was far from clear until a certain point. With releases such as Joker and The Batman, it seemed like they wanted to focus more on anthology and new stories that inspired creativity. Joker would be a period piece focused on the mental problems that Joaquin Phoenix's version suffered from. A controversial character study that wound up being the first R-rated movie to gross a billion dollars due to its harsh tone and brilliant character writing, this film is getting a sequel this year. However, my personal favorite so far was The Batman, released in 2022. The film was originally set to be directed by Ben Affleck until it wasn't and then Matt Reeves took over and decided to make it his own thing. With Matt Reeves being a huge fan of the character, he set upon the task of making a Year Two Batman inspired by the animated series, the Arkham games, and the darkest of his comics. However, the casting of Robert Pattinson threw many off. Twilight was far from a critical darling and most thought he would be as bad as he was there. Adding onto that were fake rumors of messy productions in the film, all of which were false. The suit was revealed at the start of production and looked very homemade, setting others off on it.

However, everything became clear upon the release of the first trailer. The trailer screamed gritty noir and showed us this dark fresh take on Batman. The film would finally release in 2022 to praise from critics and a success at the box office. In particular, the cast was all praised. Actor Colin Farrell would even get his own series as The Penguin. However, in the background, the winds of change were coming. The DCEU would soon end with Aquaman 2 as the new DCU, helmed by James Gunn, would take its place. While these separate films were allowed to release, anything else after would connect directly into the DCU. Aquaman 2 has come and gone now, with so-so box office returns and so-so reviews. However, the future is unclear and might not be so clear to others. I'm here to help show you what's planned in the future!

What to expect: (2024-beyond)

James Gunn would release a video in 2023 detailing the plans for his new DCU. Movies were planned, such as Superman: Legacy, now with a new Superman played by David Corenswet from House of Cards, a new Batman movie, Swamp Thing, and all sorts of others. Shows were also planned, such as Creature Commandos, Booster Gold, and Lanterns. These all would tie into one another and focus on the new wider DCU. Some, such as Creature Commandos, would be animated as well! James Gunn also agreed to include Blue Beetle played by Xolo Maridueña. The films would not feature as many returning actors from the DCEU minus actors like John Cena and Viola Davis who were in relatively successful properties. Rumor has it certain actors are coming back in different roles as well, with Jason Momoa rumored to return as Lobo. But, where does the universe stand? 15 films of middling results and only some gems in the rough. By far, DC is at its best when it doesn't copy other trends. Some films copy the MCU too much while others copy other DC films that were popular. However, The Suicide Squad, The Batman, Wonder Woman, and Joker all captured one thing that made them work: they did something different. If DC wants to succeed in the near future, they will try something different that may finally make DC a name in the box office. We shall see with Superman: Legacy if the phoenix can rise from the ashes and if James Gunn can save DC.