10 Times Movies 'Did Right By The Fans' (And Pissed Everyone Off)

The early DCEU was a divisive beast to say the least. Its grimdark take on beloved icons such as Superman and Batman proved fairly divisive, and their starring vehicles (particularly Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) were dour affairs that missed the enduring appeal behind these characters.

Warner Bros. was aware of this harsh reception and following the critical savaging and financial disappointment of Dawn of Justice, they opted to course-correct with their big team-up Justice League film. Zack Snyder’s original plans would have the universe become gradually optimistic and light in tone, but the studio bigwigs expected a drastic change that would get fans back into the loop, and that resulted in the candy-coloured cringe-fest that was the theatrical cut of the would-be blockbuster, which was directed by Joss Whedon.

From the out-of-place quips to garish colour grading, it was clear that the studio wanted the 2017 tentpole to resemble the Avengers flicks, but this would work against them as audiences opted for the real deal (in this case Thor: Ragnarok, which released a few weeks prior to Justice League).

Eventually, we got to see Snyder’s original version in 2021 and while it was superior to its silver screen trainwreck, the existence of these films highlighted the sheer disorganized nature of the DCEU.