10 Fatal Mistakes That Ruined The DCEU

Hiring Zack Snyder to direct Man of Steel wasn't a bad call in itself, but handing him the keys to the entire DCEU and letting him act as the franchise's main creative driving force ultimately backfired in the end.

There needs to be at least some sense of a shared visual continuity and uniformity in any shared universe, and the super-serious and grim tone adopted in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman ultimately forced the rest of the studio's output to conform in some way, with Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad's color palette and cinematography notably influenced by Snyder's output.

This was never clearer than in the theatrical cut of Justice League, in which Joss Whedon's more light-hearted and quip-heavy style seems uncomfortably bolted on to Snyder's usual aesthetic, making it both blatantly obvious and incredibly easy to spot exactly which footage was inserted following the extensive reshoots.

After Snyder ultimately departed the franchise, Shazam!, Aquaman and Birds of Prey deviated from the established template to great results, with Wonder Woman 1984 shaping up to be another primary-colored blast of fun as the DCEU continues to distance itself from the recent past.