10 Ways Joker's Origin Movie Could Completely Change The DCEU

8. Shifting Tones

By far the biggest criticism to have emerged from DC's universe-building misadventure has been that all of their films (Justice League permitting), have been tonally bleak and just way too dour. Man of Steel in particular felt like a cinematic dirge, and that's a major problem when the character is meant to be an uplifting, inspirational one.

Of course, there's nothing to stop DC from shifting the tone in their extended universe. We have, after all, just seen that with Wonder Woman, which seemed to find the perfect blend between high-stakes action, drama and humour. It's certainly possible for the DCEU to navigate a universe filled with dissonant tones and striking characters - much like its source material does - but it could be the case that WB opt for these self-contained films when looking to create an altogether different kind of title.

Certainly, the Deadpool-led 'R'-rated resurgence has taken the genre by storm, and, much like the failed Marvel Knights banner attempted with Punisher: War Zone and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, it could be that we get these stand-alone features as a means of differentiating between both mainstream and offbeat cinematic continuities.

Marvel Knights was on to something, even though it only launched two feature length films. If DC tried something similar - with the way comic book films are today - then they could be as well.