Even As Lukewarm 'Black Adam' Reviews Arrive, Warner Bros Actually Seems To Have A Solid Plan For Their DC Properties
Daniel Knighton. Getty Images."With the release of Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam this Friday, and DC Films head Walter Hamada quietly ending his tenure in the coming days, DC is charting a course into truly unknown territory.
"[…] Johnson is publicly touting his vision for a future Black Adam versus Superman movie, with his words stoking fan desires to see Henry Cavill return as the red-caped hero. Matt Reeves is plotting an expansion of his The Batman universe, while J.J. Abrams remains in the mix as well with his own plans."
That's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg so as not to inundate you with a wall of quotes. At one of my old jobs, we actually had a rule that you had to write, I think, at least double the amount of words as you were quoting from an original source, or else you'd get flagged for plagiarism and in most cases fired.
So anyway, the DC Extended Universe as it's widely known is (was?) Warner Bros' attempt at a Marvel-style interconnected film slate. They didn't follow through on Zack Snyder's vision, got burned by Joss Whedon, left most of their superhero stars crestfallen and jaded by Josstice League, and proceeded to throw everything at the wall to see what would stick. Not much has.
BUT THAT COULD BE CHANGING. Indeed, the all-powerful Rotten Tomatoes meter hasn't been super kind to Black Adam (55% on 62 reviews as of this writing), yet there's still more hope for DC films than there has been in a while.
To not bury the lede any longer, here's the mega update from THR: As Johnson has strongly hinted to the public, he's doing everything he can to get Henry Cavill back as Superman, and it appears well on its way to happening. Matt Reeves is expanding his Batverse with solo projects on villains Clayface, Professor Pyg and Scarecrow. All those projects are in early development.
Given the clout and box office draw Johnson commands and Reeves' success with The Batman, those bits aren't much of a shock at all, even though they're still awesome. Kinda wild? These bits of info, which implicates James Gunn as a huge piece of the DC puzzle moving forward, and provides encouraging updates on other DC heroes:
"Sources tell THR that Gunn and producer Peter Safran are in talks with Warners for a mystery movie, possibly more, that Gunn would tackle. […] While it isn’t clear what hero or teams Gunn is targeting, and the writer-director would focus on a second season of Peacemaker first, the studio’s eyes are very much on Superman. Under Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Warner Bros. Pictures heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, Warners has an intense desire to reprise the Cavill iteration of the hero. The project that would essentially be Man of Steel 2 is being produced by Charles Roven and is currently searching for writers.
"[…] One Warners insider disputes the idea of a leadership vacuum, saying the studio is not standing still and is moving ahead on several fronts, focusing on some of its A-list characters while planning and developing the wave beyond that. A script for Wonder Woman 3 by Patty Jenkins is expected imminently and a script for a Flash sequel is already written — by Aquaman scribe David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick — in case that movie, to be released June 23, 2023, does well."
It would be pretty fascinating to see Gunn — known for his irreverent humor and tune in the superhero space with Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and DC's The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker — take on a more serious tone with a hypothetical Superman film. I feel like he's liable to try something more obscure in DC.
What's wonderful to hear in any event is, Cavill appears to be coming back for a Man of Steel 2 type of movie. That will delight the hell out of Snyder fans and give a legit actor another crack at the iconic character. The new regime actually wants Cavill as Supes, unlike the old one! That alone is a huge positive! Man of Steel came out in 2013 and never had a direct sequel. Come on, man.
Appealing to both #RestoreTheSnyderVerse stans and those desiring something fresh is an excellent move on WB's part that the previous leadership didn't seem to grasp. Johnson had a pivotal role, strong-arming the studio into getting Cavill reinstated.
Ezra Miller's problems away from set have threatened to derail The Flash, yet the studio is clinging to that tentpole release for dear life, because by all accounts, that movie is fucking lit. DC Films needs a huge hit, and that could be a watershed moment if Miller can stay out of trouble. With the understanding that The Flash has been plagued by myriad delays, it still speaks volumes that a sequel script is already penned. The studio clearly feels great about it.
Finally, we're still getting Gal Gadot back for at least one more solo Wonder Woman adventure, which is a chance to redeem the less well-received sequel and accommodate any canonical changes that may be coming in DC's movies that are closer to coming out. Gadot slays as Diana Prince, and I suspect we've yet to see the best of her in that role.
Not gonna lie, when Batgirl was canceled, it was a bad look and just made it easy to blast WB for its continued mishandling of DC properties. Now that a clearer vision is coming into focus, this is the most optimistic I've been about the DC properties in a while. Although still very far off from Marvel in terms of bankable financial success, DC has a certain edge and austerity to it that I don't really feel from Marvel content.
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I'm hoping Warner Bros. continues to give filmmakers creative license to tell these stories in their own personal way and slowly tie everything together. That gradual approach is how Marvel turned into such a juggernaut. If DC Films can build out the Joaquin Phoenix Joker universe, the Reeves Batverse, and salvage what's useful of the DCEU while further developing the characters they keep from it with standalone movies or series, there's reason to believe the future is bright.
Please, Warner Bros: Just don't rush it with DC. Again.
Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok