Over the past decade and a half a new type of genre has swept the screens of Hollywood cinema: Superhero films. This all started out with X-men in 2000 and grew with Spider-man and Batman. This genre has grown so much over the years that now we have what is now known as the Marvel cinematic universe, which gave us the third biggest film of all time: The Avengers. However, this post isn't going to focus on that, but more on the other side of that coin. The DC Superheroes!
Lately Marvel heroes like Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man and many others have been in the spotlight, and rightly so. Their respective companies (Sony, Disney, Fox) know how to promote these characters and establish them in the modern world. This isn't the same for Warner. Bros and their DC titles. Sure, Batman was a critical and financial success but that lately that was all they had, as can be seen by box office busts like Jonah Hex and Green Lantern. But there seems to be a bright light for DC in the form of Man Of Steel which is getting extremely positive responses from audiences and critics alike. This one film can be the launch pad for an entire shared DC cinematic universe.
DC fans and movie fans have been wondering lately how would Warner Bros. create this universe without it feeling like a copy of Marvel. Well the answer is simple: they can't. But WB can make their universe different from Marvel by tweaking their films and distribution technique. For instance, Marvel's films are mainly action films with the main characters having a lot of fun throughout the narrative (except maybe Spider-Man). DC should learn from this and have their characters have fun in the films but also have a deep tone to it. Focusing on how the general public feel about their existence and whether they can be trusted. This seems to be the general tone of Man Of Steel, which is really good. DC can add this feeling to their films while also using different tones to the characters, like the Flash being the warm-hearted light character and Batman being the gritty, Gothic character.
When it came to distribution Marvel decided to introduce their characters in solo films before having them introduced to each other in the Avengers and, although this was risky, it worked! However, DC has a slight advantage here with the fact that it owns the two most well-known superheroes in history: Superman and Batman, who both have huge fan-bases: Superman for being the first ever superhero, his new film and Batman because of the Nolan Trilogy. Because of this DC doesn't really need to have the solo films, they can just go straight in with a Justice League film that introduces the members of the team like Wonder Woman, Flash, Cyborg. They can pick up from Green Lantern if they want and try to re-imagine him (never under-estimate the power of a sequel). However, if they do this then they shouldn't have it an alien invasion, have Vandall Savage who's from Earth and a huge threat. If the film proves a success then WB can follow up with prequel origin films (like X-men). This would definitely get the DC cinematic universe up and going.
However, one of the big problems with the Justice League film seems to be Batman. Because Nolan ended his trilogy audiences won't be seeing Christian Bale donning the cape and cowl again and so it will be a rebooted Batman. Now a lot of fans have been up-in-arms about this, saying it's too early for a reboot. Well they also said that about Spider-Man and we have what a lot of fans are calling the best Spider-Man film. What DC need to do is look at what made The Amazing Spider-Man a good film, such as re-working the origin story, which is easy for them because Batman's story has been re-imagined almost as many times as Superman's. The latest being Batman: Earth one, which is a great way to re-imagine the character cinematically. Also, casting is very important, WB need someone who can play Batman but can also act like he's hiding that character under the role of Bruce Wayne.
So this is my idea of how to get the DC universe into cinemas. Do you agree or do you other ideas. Please comment.
Lately Marvel heroes like Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man and many others have been in the spotlight, and rightly so. Their respective companies (Sony, Disney, Fox) know how to promote these characters and establish them in the modern world. This isn't the same for Warner. Bros and their DC titles. Sure, Batman was a critical and financial success but that lately that was all they had, as can be seen by box office busts like Jonah Hex and Green Lantern. But there seems to be a bright light for DC in the form of Man Of Steel which is getting extremely positive responses from audiences and critics alike. This one film can be the launch pad for an entire shared DC cinematic universe.
DC fans and movie fans have been wondering lately how would Warner Bros. create this universe without it feeling like a copy of Marvel. Well the answer is simple: they can't. But WB can make their universe different from Marvel by tweaking their films and distribution technique. For instance, Marvel's films are mainly action films with the main characters having a lot of fun throughout the narrative (except maybe Spider-Man). DC should learn from this and have their characters have fun in the films but also have a deep tone to it. Focusing on how the general public feel about their existence and whether they can be trusted. This seems to be the general tone of Man Of Steel, which is really good. DC can add this feeling to their films while also using different tones to the characters, like the Flash being the warm-hearted light character and Batman being the gritty, Gothic character.
When it came to distribution Marvel decided to introduce their characters in solo films before having them introduced to each other in the Avengers and, although this was risky, it worked! However, DC has a slight advantage here with the fact that it owns the two most well-known superheroes in history: Superman and Batman, who both have huge fan-bases: Superman for being the first ever superhero, his new film and Batman because of the Nolan Trilogy. Because of this DC doesn't really need to have the solo films, they can just go straight in with a Justice League film that introduces the members of the team like Wonder Woman, Flash, Cyborg. They can pick up from Green Lantern if they want and try to re-imagine him (never under-estimate the power of a sequel). However, if they do this then they shouldn't have it an alien invasion, have Vandall Savage who's from Earth and a huge threat. If the film proves a success then WB can follow up with prequel origin films (like X-men). This would definitely get the DC cinematic universe up and going.
However, one of the big problems with the Justice League film seems to be Batman. Because Nolan ended his trilogy audiences won't be seeing Christian Bale donning the cape and cowl again and so it will be a rebooted Batman. Now a lot of fans have been up-in-arms about this, saying it's too early for a reboot. Well they also said that about Spider-Man and we have what a lot of fans are calling the best Spider-Man film. What DC need to do is look at what made The Amazing Spider-Man a good film, such as re-working the origin story, which is easy for them because Batman's story has been re-imagined almost as many times as Superman's. The latest being Batman: Earth one, which is a great way to re-imagine the character cinematically. Also, casting is very important, WB need someone who can play Batman but can also act like he's hiding that character under the role of Bruce Wayne.
So this is my idea of how to get the DC universe into cinemas. Do you agree or do you other ideas. Please comment.
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