9 Ways Batman V Superman Has Doomed The DC Extended Universe

4. There's Now A Lot Of Pressure On Suicide Squad

Next up in the DC Extended Universe is Suicide Squad and,even though it couldn't lookmore different toBatman V Superman if it tried (and it is trying), it is still tied to this world and will thus carry all of the worries and pressures with it. When it hits in August, David Ayer's manic, vibrant, darkly comic supervillain team-up won't be just that, but a film with the weight of eight (nine if Affleck's Batman get's officially announced) subsequent movies on its shoulders dragging the memories of two absolute duds behind it.

Now Suicide Squad looks great, especially after the astonishingly edited, Queen-scored Official Trailer, and while to say it'll be the best film in the series so far isn't exactly a bold prediction, it has the potential to be something great. But part of the point appears to be that it's this alternative offshoot to the other, more epic films dealing with the conventional icons; if it's now having to deflect a lot of residual hate and atone for sins of the previous film it could easily wind up hurt both in terms of critical assessment and audience interest.

A shared universe in film should operate like it does in the comics, with connections strengthening the whole without introducing additional focused pressures, yetthat's exactly what Zack Snyder's done to David Ayer.