Why A Hard Reboot Is Probably The Best Choice For The New DC Movie Universe
The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit sent shockwaves through Hollywood and comic book movie fandom yesterday when he broke the news that Warner Bros. and DC Studios would not be moving forward with a third "Wonder Woman" movie. This came on the heels of Variety reporting that the company's "Black Adam" stood to lose somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 million to $100 million due to its tepid box office performance. WB has disputed the latter story, but offered no rebuttal to Kit's piece — which also included several juicy details about the future of the DC Universe under the new leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
The big takeaway from Kit's reporting is that DC will likely be closing the book on Zack Snyder's superhero run. This is wise both creatively and financially. Since its launch in 2013 with "Man of Steel," the Snyderverse lurched from one misconceived movie to another, stalling out in 2017 with the jarringly awful "Justice League," which Joss Whedon finished while Snyder dealt with a family tragedy. Though the filmmaker was granted the unprecedented opportunity to finish his cut, which WB released to HBO Max in 2021 as "Zack Snyder's Justice League," the studio was clear that this was a one-off to satiate rabid (and, to some extent, artificially inflated) fan demand. Snyder would not be returning to the DC Universe in any creative capacity.
What this meant for the iterations of characters conceived under his aegis was not entirely clear. Patty Jenkins' "Wonder Woman" and James Wan's "Aquaman" were wildly successful crowd-pleasers. Though Jenkins' follow-up, "Wonder Woman 1984," was disappointingly muddled, fans were still generally eager for Gal Gadot to continue on in the role (as was she). While Jason Momoa's second go-round as the buff Atlantian isn't due until December 2023, his surfer-dude take on the character has been a welcome departure from the humorlessness of Ben Affleck's Batman and Henry Cavill's Superman.
If Gunn and Safran wanted to keep Gadot and Momoa around, no one would complain. According to Kit, however, everyone associated with the Snyderverse could be on their way out. And thank god for that.
Make DC movies fun again
I am far from a Snyder hater. Though "300" struck me as a silly fascist fantasy, I thought his take on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' "Watchmen" was a visually stunning achievement. "Sucker Punch" misfired, but fascinatingly so, while "Man of Steel" felt like the promising first chapter of what should've been a long-running series of movies. Unfortunately, his Superman flick fell short of commercial expectations, which spurred the studio to panic and ramp up plans to assemble the Justice League. The resulting "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" was a dreary, overstuffed mess that amplified the worst aspects of "Man of Steel." We'd just finished with Christopher Nolan's deathly serious Batman trilogy. We didn't need another dark superhero slog.
Per Kit, Gunn and Safran will pitch their bold new vision for the DCEU to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav next week. It sounds like a hard reboot is in the offing. This is the only way to go. While I like Cavill and Momoa just fine in their respective roles, keeping them around would be an unwelcome reminder of previous missteps. John Cena's Peacemaker can continue his misadventures on HBO Max for as long as they can keep the bizarro character compelling, but the new big-screen DC Universe — which does not include Matt Reeves' Batman or Todd Phillips' Joker — should be completely walled off from the past.
As for tone, I hope Gunn ports over the loopy sentimentality of his "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies. Folks who prefer their Caped Crusader yarns to play like David Fincher's "Se7en" can get their grim fix from Reeves' movies. Gunn's DC should remind us that escapist, superhero entertainments can be exhilarating and hopeful. There's a reason Richard Donner's "Superman" is still considered one of the best comic book movies 43 years after its release. As portrayed by the great Christopher Reeve, his Man of Steel took time off from battling supervillains to land a busted jet and rescue a cat from a tree. Superman actually enjoyed being Superman from time to time, and people cheered his heroics. Don't be afraid to play to our inner eight-year-old. Let these movies be a little cornball.
The dawn of the Gunn-verse
One conundrum for Gunn and Safran is the existence of Andy Muschietti's "Flash." Due in theaters June 16, 2023, this film is described by Kit as an unlocked picture, which suggests the studio has yet to make a decision on how much, if any, of the Snyderverse to keep. Muschietti has expressed a desire to get back to the old Donner optimism, but it is highly probable that his star, the deeply troubled Ezra Miller, will be making their final appearance in the title role. I know they recently did a round of reshoots, and I've heard that the movie is, despite the behind-the-scenes turmoil at DC Studios, coming together nicely. Will Gunn and Safran be content to consider this "Flash" and "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" one-and-dones even if they're great movies?
If it's true that the duo is eying Momoa to play the intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo, this certainly seems to be the case. From an executive, job-security perspective, I'd be uneasy about turning my back on a pair of well-liked blockbusters. But again, as a lifelong fan of these characters, I'm so very desperate for them to move on. The stench of the Snyderverse mustn't linger beyond '23. This is Gunn's chance to be Kevin Feige. To pull this off, he needs to be completely unencumbered by previous failures as he constructs his vision of the DC Universe, and — forgive me if this is a revolutionary notion — have a goddamn ball with it. A fan backlash is inevitable, but fans always fear change. They also have short memories. I don't want a fan-sourced DC Universe. I want James Gunn's DC Universe.