How Warner Bros Can Fix The DC Extended Universe
Take a page out of Marvel's book. For your sake.
The troubled history of the (unofficially-titled) DC Extended Universe is one of the most fascinating entertainment stories of the past few years.
After a promising start with 2013's Man Of Steel, thinks quickly went downhill with the critically maligned duo of Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad, and while Wonder Woman was able to restore some credibility to the DCEU, the messy Justice League only reaffirmed its position as one of the lesser superhero cinematic universes.
On the plus side, now that Justice League has been and gone - and the first "phase" of the DCEU has come to a close - Warner Bros has an opportunity to evaluate the current state of its comic-book movie output, planning a course-correction for the DCEU to last over the next couple of years.
The studio is in a precarious position - having not exactly earned the trust of moviegoers and critics - but with a bit of patience and some careful planning, there's no reason the DCEU can't one day compete with the far-more successful Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But there's a lot of work to be done before that day becomes a reality.
7. Adopt Marvel Studios' Hierarchy Model
Now, to be absolutely fair to Warner Bros, they've already started making some promising behind-the-scenes changes in the wake of Justice League's disastrous box-office takings.
A few days into 2018, the studio hired Walter Hamada - the man who helped oversee the successful Conjuring cinematic universe - to replace Jon Berg as head of DC film production, and just recently, DC Entertainment's Geoff Johns stepped down from his executive role and moved to a more hands-on, creative position.
Both these moves have ensured that some of the people responsible for the DCEU's mess, like Berg and Johns, have less power, with Hamada being the one who will decide how DC Films operates going forward.
Of course, Hamada will still have to answer to the higher-ups at Warner Bros, but hopefully, they allow him as much creative freedom as Disney's execs offer Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.
Disney trusts Feige greatly and they basically let him do whatever he likes, and the results speak for themselves; his guiding hand has brought the MCU an unprecedented level of success.
Why? Because there aren't a dozen different men in suits reaching into his movies and changing them as they see fit. This is currently the DCEU's biggest issue.
Only time will tell if Hamada is as talented as Feige, but allowing him to map out the future of the DCEU - with little interference - can only make it feel more cohesive than it currently does. Plus, with Hamada's filmography including the excellent Conjuring cinematic universe, he's already proven he has a knack for, or at least an understanding of, universe-building.
Inevitably, fans would accuse DC of "copying" their rival, but as long as the movies are awesome... who cares?