10 Fatal Mistakes That Ruined The DCEU
3. Trying To Do Too Much, Too Soon
As mentioned earlier in this article, a Man of Steel sequel would have done the DCEU a world of good in laying the foundations for the expanded universe, and the decision to move full speed ahead towards Batman v Superman ended up crippling the movie under the sheer weight of world-building and exposition.
Dawn of Justice tried to be a Superman sequel and a Batman reboot at the same time, while also introducing Wonder Woman and starting the build to Justice League, and by spinning so many plates it was almost inevitable that a lot of them would fall.
Even at 151 minutes, there's no way that Batman v Superman would have enough time to focus on the returning characters from Man of Steel while also incorporating Batman, Alfred, Lex Luthor, Mercy Graves, Doomsday, Wonder Woman, Jimmy Olsen, the Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, Mother Boxes and the backstories for all of the above into the story without making it feel forced, which is exactly what happened.
Those not well-versed in decades of DC lore had barely a clue who these characters were, yet they were also expected to be 100% up to speed and anxiously awaiting the release of Justice League the following year.