What is Warner Bros. doing with the DC Extended Cinematic Universe?
"Man of Steel" grossed upwards of $668 million yet failed to generate the same type of critical buzz as Marvel's Cinematic launching pad "Iron Man." As a result, some have argued that Zack Snyder's upcoming "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" is a rushed attempt to match the power of Marvel's "Avengers" series.
While that opinion has some merit, Snyder's super powered team-up has yet to be released and therefore can't be judged too harshly yet. In fact, it even looks pretty good. But if recent rumors are true, Warner Bros.' plan for the film may ultimately hurt the DCEU. Umberto Gonzalez of Heroic Hollywood is reporting that the studio is pushing for more of the Dark Knight and less of the Man of Steel in their 2016 offering.
"The latest hot rumor I am hearing is that Warners is requesting more Batman be put into the movie and less Superman," Gonzalez wrote. "Supposedly, Ben Affleck's Batman is so good that he is blowing Henry Cavill's Superman right off the screen.
"Like it or not, Batman has become the crown jewel of the DC Universe. Look at what is going in the video-game space with the Arkham series, or the fast-tracked Batman Lego movie spin off. Let alone the upcoming Suicide Squad is all Batman villains/characters. It is apparent how much more valuable the Dark Knight currently is than Superman."
No one is denying Batman's universal appeal. But the problem with this strategy is that he squeezes the life out of DC's other super hero characters. "Man of Steel" wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but there was room to further explore the character in interesting ways had a sequel been green lit. Instead, Warner Bros. decided to deposit a movie star cash cow into the franchise to cover their financial bases.
Similarly, if Warner Bros. wants anyone to flock to theaters for future solo films, they have to give the introduction of Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa's Aquaman and Ezra Miller's Flash the attention that they deserve. That will be impossible with Affleck taking up even more space at center stage.
Falling back onto the Batman foundation is the safe, lazy move one might expect from a cautious sports franchise in the draft. It virtually guarantees that DC's other super heroes will be nothing more than afterthoughts going forward and that is disappointing for true comic book movie fans.
