The Challenges Of The DC Cinematic Universe
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With "Man Of Steel" a box office success Warner Bros can now move forward onto building a DC cinematic universe like Marvel has. There is no mistaking that Warner Bros has they work cut out for them with mix feelings on the Man Of Steel film and other challenges of how to incorporate the Justice League into this world. I wanted to examine the challenges that Warner Bros and DC will face to establish a successful cinematic universe like Marvel. Can they overcome these challenges? It will need the right film crew, right actors and right directors to make this a success.
Challenge 1: Introducing A New Batman
As many of us know Christian Bale will not be returning to take up the cowl. When ask about the Justice League movie he states”I have no information, no knowledge about anything. I’ve literally not had a conversation with a living soul. I understand that they may be making a Justice League movie, that’s it. It’s a torch that should be handed from one actor to another. So I enjoy looking forward to what somebody else will come up with.” Many kids, teens and even adults of this generation have made Bale the definitive Batman, just like the past generation made Michael Keaton the definitive Batman. Introducing a new Batman three years after "The Dark Knight Rises" will take some time for die hard fans of the Nolan trilogy to adjust. The new Batman might a need a new telling of his origins since this universe will not be connected to Nolan trilogy. Seriously who wants to see Batman's origins again after it was established very well by Nolan? The new Batman is going have to be written very carefully and most importantly cast carefully. If Batman is not written well or he is miscast in the upcoming Batman/Superman movie, we can kiss this universe goodbye.
Challenge 2: The Realistic Approach
Warner Bros is approaching the DC cinematic universe with a little bit realism. As seen in the "Man Of Steel" the approach is what would happen if this happen in real life. This approach while interesting also needs to be proceeded with caution. By grounding the characters into a realistic approach you will sacrifice certain characters, villains and story arcs that fans will love to see because it's not realistic in our world, a great example of this is Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. In Nolan's trilogy you couldn't see characters like The Penguin, Riddler, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter because it wouldn't fit into the realistic tone Nolan was going for. Hell Bane couldn't even use the venom in this world. The realistic approach is a huge challenge because it can take away key elements that define a character. How can they explain the Green Lanterns in a realistic world? How can they explain Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Doomsday, Darkseid and other characters and ground them? Some characters require a little fantasy or sci-fi for the backstory, powers or interaction to be developed, if that part is grounded or sacrifice how can we have an accurate depiction on the characters.
Challenge 3: Introducing The Justice League
The ultimate goal for the DC Cinematic is to bring all the characters into one big Justice League movie. However not all DC Characters are big money draws, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Jon Stewart Green Lantern will all be successful films if only it's marketed and done correctly, but will Aquaman, Martian The Manhunter, Green Arrow and Cyborg bring in the 200 million mark if they have a standalone films? How are Warner Bros and DC going introduce each character? Will they give each character a movie, or will everyone make an cameo in the Batman/Superman movie? Marvel was fortunate to have heroes like Thor and Iron Man to become mega hits but will DC have the same luck. Just like anything in film the story, direction and cast will be have to be a home run. "Man Of Steel" had an amazing cast and if Warner Bros is able to recruit quality actors and quality writers we won't have to worry.
Challenge 4: Marvel Cinematic Universe
There is no doubt whatever Warner Bros and DC do it will be compare to the successful Marvel universe. However the challenge here is actually not to rush to play catch up, but take steps to ensure that this universe is not only successful but just as good or better than Marvel's.
Challenge 1: Introducing A New Batman
As many of us know Christian Bale will not be returning to take up the cowl. When ask about the Justice League movie he states”I have no information, no knowledge about anything. I’ve literally not had a conversation with a living soul. I understand that they may be making a Justice League movie, that’s it. It’s a torch that should be handed from one actor to another. So I enjoy looking forward to what somebody else will come up with.” Many kids, teens and even adults of this generation have made Bale the definitive Batman, just like the past generation made Michael Keaton the definitive Batman. Introducing a new Batman three years after "The Dark Knight Rises" will take some time for die hard fans of the Nolan trilogy to adjust. The new Batman might a need a new telling of his origins since this universe will not be connected to Nolan trilogy. Seriously who wants to see Batman's origins again after it was established very well by Nolan? The new Batman is going have to be written very carefully and most importantly cast carefully. If Batman is not written well or he is miscast in the upcoming Batman/Superman movie, we can kiss this universe goodbye.
Challenge 2: The Realistic Approach
Warner Bros is approaching the DC cinematic universe with a little bit realism. As seen in the "Man Of Steel" the approach is what would happen if this happen in real life. This approach while interesting also needs to be proceeded with caution. By grounding the characters into a realistic approach you will sacrifice certain characters, villains and story arcs that fans will love to see because it's not realistic in our world, a great example of this is Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. In Nolan's trilogy you couldn't see characters like The Penguin, Riddler, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter because it wouldn't fit into the realistic tone Nolan was going for. Hell Bane couldn't even use the venom in this world. The realistic approach is a huge challenge because it can take away key elements that define a character. How can they explain the Green Lanterns in a realistic world? How can they explain Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Doomsday, Darkseid and other characters and ground them? Some characters require a little fantasy or sci-fi for the backstory, powers or interaction to be developed, if that part is grounded or sacrifice how can we have an accurate depiction on the characters.
Challenge 3: Introducing The Justice League
The ultimate goal for the DC Cinematic is to bring all the characters into one big Justice League movie. However not all DC Characters are big money draws, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Jon Stewart Green Lantern will all be successful films if only it's marketed and done correctly, but will Aquaman, Martian The Manhunter, Green Arrow and Cyborg bring in the 200 million mark if they have a standalone films? How are Warner Bros and DC going introduce each character? Will they give each character a movie, or will everyone make an cameo in the Batman/Superman movie? Marvel was fortunate to have heroes like Thor and Iron Man to become mega hits but will DC have the same luck. Just like anything in film the story, direction and cast will be have to be a home run. "Man Of Steel" had an amazing cast and if Warner Bros is able to recruit quality actors and quality writers we won't have to worry.
Challenge 4: Marvel Cinematic Universe
There is no doubt whatever Warner Bros and DC do it will be compare to the successful Marvel universe. However the challenge here is actually not to rush to play catch up, but take steps to ensure that this universe is not only successful but just as good or better than Marvel's.
