10 Reasons Why DC Should Give Up On Its Cinematic Universe

Just what on earth is going on with Batman anyway?

by Ewan Paterson
DCEU Joker
Warner Bros.

While people were, initially, very excited regarding the potential of a fully fledged DC cinematic universe back in 2013, it appears as though the wheels have fallen off that particular train rather quickly.

Indeed, with Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad all having met a hostile critical reception, the notion that WB could produce the DC equivalent of the MCU must surely be abandoned. If rumours are anything to go by, that could well be the case, with Matt Reeves having just come out and said that his next project - the long gestating Ben Affleck-led Batman reboot - won't be connected to the DCEU. That and it's become apparent that a stand alone Joker film is in the works, so yeah, it would look as though hope is being abandoned on all fronts that WB can, in some reality, make this work.

And, frankly, that's not really a bad thing. Warner Bros.' superhero strategy has long courted controversy, and, with issues occurring on and off the screen, it feels as though the DCEU simply isn't meant to be. Literally no one has a clue what's going on with the company's biggest characters; other properties - like Justice League Dark - are still locked in development hell; and, the more you dwell on it, the whole move just feels so needlessly protracted and worse yet, contrived.

DC simply can't have a cinematic universe - they've intimated that fact bluntly enough with three incredibly underwhelming releases. Wonder Woman might be able to rescue Bats and Supes yet, but, in any case, a return to the days of self-contained, standalone features can't and indeed shouldn't be written off. In DC's case, it may just make the last four years worth something.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.