13 Ways DC Is Attempting To Combat The Marvel Films Model
10. Giving Their Directors More Control
No one is going to accuse James Wan of being an influential voice in filmmaking, but hes had success across genres. David Ayer has crafted some of the best crime movies of the last 15 years, Patty Jenkins directed Charlize Theron to an Oscar win, and Seth Grahame-Smith... well maybe its best to just forget about him for now. The point is that while these may not be the master directors DC is claiming them to be, they all have individual flair and definitive voices, which is more than what could be said of most Marvel directors going into their movies.
Marvel runs their operation very much like a TV series. The producers are the ones really in charge and the director is only their to execute their will on film. So while their initial efforts included more prolific directors like Jon Favreau and Kenneth Branagh, after their creativity was stifled by the model, Marvel turned to more easily controllable options. Suddenly, TV directors and relative unknowns were getting brought onboard to direct huge blockbusters with little experience.
The results have largely been successful but just look how much better Guardians Of The Galaxy was when they gave control to a more established director with a distinct voice. This is what DC is trying to do every time.
If DC really wants to sell this idea of getting master directors, they should just hire Edgar Wright to direct The Atom as a big middle finger to Marvel.