8 Critical Mistakes The DC Film Universe Has Made

2. Being Too Reactionary

Suicide Squad
Warner Bros. Pictures

At times, it feels like the absence of a plan has left Warner Bros. helpless, desperately grabbing onto anyone and anything that might help them correct-course and become a hit with the fans.

Subsequently, the exact opposite effect is achieved. By making the film that could be most popular instead of just making the right film as best you can, the project loses integrity and your cinematic universe becomes a collection of misplaced attempts to strike gold.

Harley Quinn is incredibly popular after Suicide Squad? Let's greenlight a Harley Quinn movie! Everyone loves Batfleck? Give him his own solo film! The Rock is popular? Let's sign him up to something... let's see... uh, um, I know! Shazam!

It just screams of a lack of confidence and control, like Warner Bros. are drowning, desperately trying to stay afloat by mining anything and everything that could be a potential hit. The DCEU is beginning to feel less like a universe, and more like a disconnected series of movies, as a result.

It would be far more impressive to see the studio take control of the situation. We don't really need Shazam, a project that becomes less and less relevant the more we hear from it, and Gotham City Sirens doesn't seem to fit with the DCEU's current Darkseid arc.

Instead, let's get that Man Of Steel sequel off the ground. Let's bring forward the Cyborg movie, and start moving on Green Lantern. Start having a little faith in the direction the DCEU is headed, rather than altering it on the fly - last-minute changes are nearly always misguided and rushed.

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.