Future of DC Films (DCEU)

[Victοr]

Next GL entity will be about quantity not quality. No sole focus, just every Lantern all at once.

I've long since stopped hoping for genuinely good CBMs that will please me. I just want some GL dolls. How deep I'd go depends. A part of me wants a big display, but my logical side knows I have too many spread out wants to do such a thing. I mean, how many 20-figure displays can someone set up? Even one would cost ~7K. In dreamland they all seem swell, but in the real world all those plans break down.

Anyway, Hal/Parallax Hal and Sinestro/Parallax Sinestro will always be my main wants. I'd like some other colours too, but I don't know if Atrocitus or the such would make for great figures. I find something like Venom too plastic, and I barely bought a Thanos because he's such a fan favourite for me. I'd rather stick with Black Hand, and then something like White Kyle and Red Guy to represent other colours. And just with these I'm at 7 figures, so you can see how easily it all piles up. If they ever did the entire Johns Saga at that,

I miss when GL was at the top... Why does Batman get to have all the fun?

 

[matticus]

I've long since stopped hoping for genuinely good CBMs that will please me. I just want some GL dolls. How deep I'd go depends. A part of me wants a big display, but my logical side knows I have too many spread out wants to do such a thing. I mean, how many 20-figure displays can someone set up? Even one would cost ~7K. In dreamland they all seem swell, but in the real world all those plans break down.

Anyway, Hal/Parallax Hal and Sinestro/Parallax Sinestro will always be my main wants. I'd like some other colours too, but I don't know if Atrocitus or the such would make for great figures. I find something like Venom too plastic, and I barely bought a Thanos because he's such a fan favourite for me. I'd rather stick with Black Hand, and then something like White Kyle and Red Guy to represent other colours. And just with these I'm at 7 figures, so you can see how easily it all piles up. If they ever did the entire Johns Saga at that,

I miss when GL was at the top... Why does Batman get to have all the fun?

I don't read Green Lantern or much DC outside of Batman, but to me, at their core, is that they are a police force. I think the best adaptable way would be for the show to be approached as a police precinct and for the episodes to like a police procedural. Unfortunately with the Lantern Corp, there is a massive amount of CGI. I wouldn't CG the costumes and each episode follows a crime, an investigation and some type of enforcement of the law. I barely know anything outside of animated movies/show with GL who just jokes and makes a lot of green objects to use on bad guys.

 

[Victοr]

I don't read Green Lantern or much DC outside of Batman, but to me, at their core, is that they are a police force. I think the best adaptable way would be for the show to be approached as a police precinct and for the episodes to like a police procedural. Unfortunately with the Lantern Corp, there is a massive amount of CGI. I wouldn't CG the costumes and each episode follows a crime, an investigation and some type of enforcement of the law. I barely know anything outside of animated movies/show with GL who just jokes and makes a lot of green objects to use on bad guys.

Yeah, they are basically Space Cops. But it's such a large IP that they essentially function more as mythical Space Knights as the stories get grander. I can see how a smaller story could work on TV, but I need my epic Rainbow War on the big screen too.

 

[Alatar]

I think for live action I‘d want to see the GL Corps updated with modern day ufology which, despite the fact that the government is finally now acknowledging ufos are real and probably extraterrestrial (and/or perhaps even inter-dimensional as well) in origin, still comprises our present day myth, legend, folklore, etc. More Men in Black-ish in terms of secretly handing other species interest in earth, some of which are not well intentioned. And maybe within that framework using the lantern ring power as more of an advanced alien tech that uses the relationship between consciousness and spacetime, etc.—and then because its passing through a human self having pitfalls all of its own in that sense. Again, this is modern culture’s folklore/mythology.

 

[Victοr]

I think for live action I‘d want to see the GL Corps updated with modern day ufology which, despite the fact that the government is finally now acknowledging ufos are real and probably extraterrestrial (and/or perhaps even inter-dimensional as well) in origin, still comprises our present day myth, legend, folklore, etc. More Men in Black-ish in terms of secretly handing other species interest in earth, some of which are not well intentioned. And maybe within that framework using the lantern ring power as more of an advanced alien tech that uses the relationship between consciousness and spacetime, etc.—and then because its passing through a human self having pitfalls all of its own in that sense. Again, this is modern culture’s folklore/mythology.

Neat idea certainly, but I'd rather an epic Space Opera. I feel that'd be a better fit for a GL spin-off following a rookie and featuring some supporting characters, rather than being the direction to tell the stories of Hal and Co.

You may get your wish because the HBO show sounds similar, at least from the rumours and the such.

 

[Alatar]

Next GL entity will be about quantity not quality. No sole focus, just every Lantern all at once.

I dunno. With the previous regime perhaps. With changes in leadership at WB(D) beginning to take shape I’m no so sure anymore.

 

[Alatar]

This De Luca guy might be the new czar of DC Entertainment, or whatever WBD will be calling it. Mikey Sutton of Geekosity notes that De Luca had wanted to make the sequel to Ayers‘ Suicide Squad before WB promoted the tag team of Johns and Berg to co-CEOs of DC Films in 2016. A lot of folks forget or overlook that even with the studio interference messing it up, SS did quite well at the box office. It made just $5M less than The Batman did this year (or adjusted for inflation in 2022 better: in today’s dollars that $746M in 2016 would be $894,646,695) and it set the record (which still stands) for an August theater release. SS took a page from the MCU having released GotG in early August in 2014; and as we know GotG was a surprising smash hit (most comic book fans didn't know who those superheroes were!). Historically August has low box office numbers and often films scheduled for release that month are films not expected to make much money. In this case it was a gamble to ensure that SS had little competition.

People tend to forget that when Suicide Sqaud was filmed it was very much aligned with Snyder’s vision for what the DCEU was to become, and originally that was a connected universe with intertwining story arcs, etc., i.e., very MCU-like which is what Zaslav wants a return to. That grand vision got nixed by Johns and Berg who were in turn following the orders of Kevin Tsjujihara and Toby Emmerich.

Anyway, reportedly De Luca is both an Ayer and Snyder fan.

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/mike-de-luca-pam-abdy-warner-bros-mgm-1235242698/
https://variety.com/2022/film/news/mgm-michael-de-luca-pam-abdy-out-amazon-1235242529/
Sutton also reports that he is hearing that we will see a Ben Affleck solo film as the next big project for realignment of the DC IPs. It will probably be directed by another director since Affleck was sincere back when he commented what a chore he felt it would be to try direct himself as Batman while wearing the Batsuit. Another big announcement would be a Henry Cavill Superman solo film set between MoS and BvS. These are part of the “shock and awe” approach the Zaslav envisions. And sure enough it would generate tons of buzz and hype, I think that’s fair to say.

Sutton notes that Reeves and Pattinson have it set contractually for that Batman trilogy (and spinoffs? presumably) to be it’s own separate universe, and as such to not cross over into the existing DCEU. I think the idea here on WB’s part was to birth a brand new universe with Batman starting it as it sunsetted the existing one. IIRC Pattinson has said not long ago in an interview that he and Reeves had talked about having Superman exist in that universe. Presumably it would be a brand new Superman.

But according to Sutton, David Zaslav likes Snyder’s DC trinity and wants to see them reunited in the near future. He says Sazlav is now looking at a 10 year plan for the DC IPs. Having the current JL finish out properly—and yes, that means Snyder’s vision for JL 2 and 3 completing more or less as planned. However by the time the Battinson trilogy is finished, that will roughly coincide with about the time that the current DCEU would be wrapping up with a Final Crisis film (which Snyder teased last Thanksgiving). JL 2 will probably be the Knightmare future as Snyder had planned. JL 3 I think at this point would be Snyder’s own unique adaptation of Final Crisis.

According to Sutton will an announcement of a Ben Affleck Batman project be made at the May 18 “Upfront” event at MSG? Or will it wait until 2022’s DC Fandome (which best I can see does not have a date scheduled yet)? Time will tell.

Sutton of course cannot just be taken at face value. And hey, look, if he’s right most of the time at best the odds overwhelmingly favor him perhaps having a talent for making good guesses more often than not. A more cynical view (and its always safe to be cynical on social media) is of course that he’s basically a grifter—as then would be Syl Abdul (YT) as well, basically by definition. But I would not categorically rule it out that Sutton has a reliable source or sources. It’s not totally out of the question anyway. As a Snyderverse fan I am of course biased in hoping he actually has real sources. I admit that if that’s true it’d be a very lucky and unexpected thing, though.

Anyway, we’ll see! De Luca sounds like a promising choice for managing the DC IPs. De Luca being in talks to join WBD is from Variety. With his background DC czar seems the likely role.

 

[matticus]

This De Luca guy might be the new czar of DC Entertainment, or whatever WBD will be calling it. Mikey Sutton of Geekosity notes that De Luca had wanted to make the sequel to Ayers‘ Suicide Squad before WB promoted the tag team of Johns and Berg to co-CEOs of DC Films in 2016. A lot of folks forget or overlook that even with the studio interference messing it up, SS did quite well at the box office. It made just $5M less than The Batman did this year (or adjusted for inflation in 2022 better: in today’s dollars that $746M in 2016 would be $894,646,695) and it set the record (which still stands) for an August theater release. SS took a page from the MCU having released GotG in early August in 2014; and as we know GotG was a surprising a smash hit (not even a lot of comic book fans knew who those superheroes were, etc.). Historically August has low box office numbers and often films scheduled for release that month are films not expected to make much money. In this case it was a gamble to ensure that SS had little competition.

People tend to forget that when Suicide Sqaud was filmed it was very much aligned with Snyder’s vision for what the DCEU was to become, and originally that was a connected universe with intertwining story arcs, etc., i.e., very MCU-like which is what Zaslav wants a return to. That grand vision got nixed by Johns and Berg who were in turn following the orders of Kevin Tsjujihara and Toby Emmerich.

Anyway, reportedly De Luca is both an Ayer and Snyder fan.

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/mike-de-luca-pam-abdy-warner-bros-mgm-1235242698/
https://variety.com/2022/film/news/mgm-michael-de-luca-pam-abdy-out-amazon-1235242529/
Sutton also reports that he is hearing that we will see a Ben Affleck solo film as the next big project for realignment of the DC IPs. It will probably be directed by another director since Affleck was sincere back when he commented what a chore he felt it would be to try direct himself as Batman while wearing the Batsuit. Another big announcement would be a Henry Cavill Superman solo film set between MoS and BvS. These are part of the “shock and awe” approach the Zaslav envisions. And sure enough it would generate tons of buzz and hype, I think that’s fair to say.

Sutton notes that Reeves and Pattinson have it set contractually for that Batman trilogy (and spinoffs? presumably) to be it’s own separate universe, and as such to not cross over into the existing DCEU. I think the idea here on WB’s part was to birth a brand new universe with Batman starting it as it sunsetted the existing one. IIRC Pattinson has said not long ago in an interview that he and Reeves had talked about having Superman exist in that universe. Presumably it would be a brand new Superman.

But according to Sutton, David Zaslav likes Snyder’s DC trinity and wants to see them reunited in the near future. He says Sazlav is now looking at a 10 year plan for the DC IPs. Having the current JL finish out properly—and yes, that means Snyder’s vision for JL 2 and 3 completing more or less as planned. However by the time the Battinson trilogy is finished, that will roughly coincide with about the time that the current DCEU would be wrapping up with a Final Crisis film (which Snyder teased last Thanksgiving). JL 2 will probably be the Knightmare future as Snyder had planned. JL 3 I think at this point would be Snyder’s own unique adaptation of Final Crisis.

According to Sutton will an announcement of a Ben Affleck Batman project be made at the May 18 “Upfront” event at MSG? Or will it wait until 2022’s DC Fandome (which best I can see does not have a date scheduled yet)? Time will tell.

Sutton of course cannot just be taken at face value. And hey, look, if he’s right most of the time at best the odds overwhelmingly favor him perhaps having a talent for making good guesses more often than not. A more cynical view (and its always safe to be cynical on social media) is of course that he’s basically a grifter—as then would be Syl Abdul (YT) as well, basically by definition. But I would not categorically rule it out that Sutton has a reliable source or sources. It’s not totally out of the question anyway. As a Snyderverse fan I am of course biased in hoping he actually has real sources. I admit that if that’s true it’d be a very lucky and unexpected thing, though.

Anyway, we’ll see! De Luca sounds like a promising choice for managing the DC IPs. De Luca being in talks to join WBD is from Variety. With his background DC czar seems the likely role.

Thanks for the info!

I agree that with all the BvS and SS trash talking/reviews, both did relatively well at the box office. But expectations got in the way and they overreacted when a clear plan was put forth in front of them. Ayer is a really, really good writer/director. Snyder really did a great job with Justice League, just started off on a pessimistic/tragic point of view.

I hope the DC Grand Emperor lays out a clear objective with working with talent - what clear restraints would be in serving the universe, what creativity can be brought to the table and clearly what the universe should look like and offer to audiences. Bringing back Ayer and Snyder to redeem the studio in some way would be a good start to things. Seems like Snyder did all the planning for them and was thrown under the bus when things didn't go like they wanted them too. Ayer with SS, well if test audiences like both the director and the studio's cut equally, perhaps you should go with the guy who did all the work for you. If they want more of an edgy take, well then Discovery is a better platform for that than an actual GA theater movie.

When Affleck said he was done, yet did a Flash and Ezra did that weird laugh social media post about it, I just don't think you can count him out not returning for something else.

I think there is too much drawn in that they are competing against Marvel. There is some positivity in what was brought before. Just what would help in maximizing profits while also getting a lot of positivity towards your films. There is info to be had from these numbers:

The Batman is over $750 million. That's not like it is some bright, goofy and optimistic Marvel movie either.

Bottom line is, serve the characters. What is best serving to Superman? Neck snap, smash dude into wall and attempted murder of Batman all weren't in Superman's best interest. That's graphic novel form. I don't mind Superman in Knightmare form as he is controlled by Darkseid, but his optimism and search for justice and truth is what makes Superman. I want that MOS2 with Cavill fighting Brainiac.

 

[Alatar]

Bottom line is, serve the characters. What is best serving to Superman? Neck snap, smash dude into wall and attempted murder of Batman all weren't in Superman's best interest. That's graphic novel form. I don't mind Superman in Knightmare form as he is controlled by Darkseid, but his optimism and search for justice and truth is what makes Superman. I want that MOS2 with Cavill fighting Brainiac.

Pretty clearly, the mass cultural consciousness wasn't ready for what Snyder attempted. Although that said, ZSJL was always intended to be a reconstruction--i.e., a return to, embrace of, and celebration of--classical superhero tropes after the dark and psychologically challenging deconstruction of MoS and BvS.

The GA and most critics weren't really ready for it with 2009's Watchmen either. Although Snyder gave Watchmen's superheroes a definite "cool" factor that Alan Moore in his comic run very consciously and deliberately did not (Moore feels comic books keep adults stuck in a 12 y/o boy fantasy mentality). Snyder did that because he concluded that there is still something of value for us to psychologically indulge in through superhero escapism: namely, identifying with Joseph Campbell's hero's journey.

Now since what Snyder did with Watchmen, MoS, and BvS we've see the success HBO's Watchmen series, and Amazon's The Boys and Invincible. But I think it's fair to say that it is still roughly the minority that loves that. It's relatively niche, versus the mainstream GA that prefers the pure innocent escapism of the MCU; and going further back, 1978 Superman, 1989 Batman, the 00's X-Men and Spider-Man, etc.

Now could Snyder have found a way to do that that connected better with the masses? Maybe. Yeah, hypothetically. But Snyder is who he is as an artist and individual. At the 2020 DC Fandome Snyder identified his planned five film arc as an "elseworld" story. And for better or worse that was his vision. (Personally I love it. But many absolutely hated it. And I get that and respect it.)

As Deborah Snyder said in summer of 2016 when WB invited three vloggers (Weintraub, Sciretta, and Faraci) to spend a day on the set of JL "I think we learned that people don't like seeing their superheroes deconstructed."

Anyway, I am firmly convinced that the Knightmare world of JL 2 and whatever Zack had in mind for JL 3 were going to be full-on celebration of the most fantastical comic book conventions. An invasion by the Fourth World New Gods? Are you kidding me? After deconstructing superheroes with his first three DC films, this is the pendulum swinging the other way, for sure.

Now what Cavill has in mind, a story set in between MoS and BvS, during that 18 months, is the middle ground. It's be more like what Nolan did for Batman, or the MCU has done, by grounding it within modern sensibilities but still allowing it to be innocent fun. And sure enough, in the right hands a Superman movie like this should absolutely crush at the box office and with the critics.

And the rumor is that Zaslav sees that and agrees with that basic sensibility. So yes, I am confident that we are going to get that movie. And not a moment too soon. We have an amazing Superman in Henry Cavill, and an amazing Batman in Ben Affleck. They have been criminally wasted because Toby Emmerich was too personally butthurt to capitalize on them, since he's stubbornly made a decision to abandon them. Thank God his reign is ending.

 

[matticus]

Pretty clearly, the mass cultural consciousness wasn't ready for what Snyder attempted. Although that said, ZSJL was always intended to be a reconstruction--i.e., a return to, embrace of, and celebration of--classical superhero tropes after the dark and psychologically challenging deconstruction of MoS and BvS.

The GA and most critics weren't really ready for it with 2009's Watchmen either. Although Snyder gave Watchmen's superheroes a definite "cool" factor that Alan Moore in his comic run very consciously and deliberately did not (Moore feels comic books keep adults stuck in a 12 y/o boy fantasy mentality). Snyder did that because he concluded that there is still something of value for us to psychologically indulge in through superhero escapism: namely, identifying with Joseph Campbell's hero's journey.

Now since what Snyder did with Watchmen, MoS, and BvS we've see the success HBO's Watchmen series, and Amazon's The Boys and Invincible. But I think it's fair to say that it is still roughly the minority that loves that. It's relatively niche, versus the mainstream GA that prefers the pure innocent escapism of the MCU; and going further back, 1978 Superman, 1989 Batman, the 00's X-Men and Spider-Man, etc.

Now could Snyder have found a way to do that that connected better with the masses? Maybe. Yeah, hypothetically. But Snyder is who he is as an artist and individual. At the 2020 DC Fandome Snyder identified his planned five film arc as an "elseworld" story. And for better or worse that was his vision. (Personally I love it. But many absolutely hated it. And I get that and respect it.)

As Deborah Snyder said in summer of 2016 when WB invited three vloggers (Weintraub, Sciretta, and Faraci) to spend a day on the set of JL "I think we learned that people don't like seeing their superheroes deconstructed."

Anyway, I am firmly convinced that the Knightmare world of JL 2 and whatever Zack had in mind for JL 3 were going to be full-on celebration of the most fantastical comic book conventions. An invasion by the Fourth World New Gods? Are you kidding me? After deconstructing superheroes with his first three DC films, this is the pendulum swinging the other way, for sure.

Now what Cavill has in mind, a story set in between MoS and BvS, during that 18 months, is the middle ground. It's be more like what Nolan did for Batman, or the MCU has done, by grounding it within modern sensibilities but still allowing it to be innocent fun. And sure enough, in the right hands a Superman movie like this should absolutely crush at the box office and with the critics.

And the rumor is that Zaslav sees that and agrees with that basic sensibility. So yes, I am confident that we are going to get that movie. And not a moment too soon. We have an amazing Superman in Henry Cavill, and an amazing Batman in Ben Affleck. They have been criminally wasted because Toby Emmerich was too personally butthurt to capitalize on them, since he's stubbornly made a decision to abandon them. Thank God his reign is ending.

I hope they dump whatever Abrams is up to. His HBO Max projects seem like absolute garbage. Did they not see how he ruined Trek and SW?

 

[Alatar]

I hope they dump whatever Abrams is up to. His HBO Max projects seem like absolute garbage. Did they not see how he ruined Trek and SW?

I'm actually okay with the Coates idea but only as an interesting take on the side, akin to Todd Phillips' Joker, and then unconnected to the main story universe inhabited by Cavill's Superman, Affleck's Batman, Gadot's Wonder Woman, Mamoa's Aquaman, Miller's Flash, Fisher's Cyborg, et al. That's essentially what I think Battinson's universe will likely become as well. It's possible that it could continue after the trilogy and expand with new versions of all the DC characters. Honestly, it'll depend on how people feel Battinson measures up compared with what Batfleck does with his own solo project and completion of the Snyder vision, if the latter comes to pass. If the latter does not come to pass then if Pattinson is down to continue at that point I think they'd build out his universe to include a new JL.

It's probably unpopular but I actually kind of liked what Abrams did with the two Star Trek movies. Overall... What I liked was that he kept it about the development of relationships among the crew, and that's as it should be. The main plot is just a vehicle for that anyway. Loved the castings also.

The two Star Wars movies were playing it super safe within what I presume were incredibly strong mandates by Disney. I'm an odd duck about SW. I loved ANH, and love the Mandalorian. But otherwise I'm not a fan of Star Wars. It's just cheesy to me. (Another unpopular opinion I realize.) Although I think SW can still do interesting prequels like Rogue One and this new Obi Wan Kenobi series that can be very interesting. And maybe they can now tell a whole new saga in that universe using entirely new characters as well.

But I guess the larger point is that WB screwed the pooch by paying Abrams half a billion up front and then never really using him. Interestingly I heard that $500M is the amount that WB is in debt, lol. But I think that is also why Zaslav is saying that they want to replicate the success of Joker. In other words, they want to make these so-called "Black label" elseworld stories but that is mainly because they paid so much to Abrams to produce content for them. And they definitely don't want Abrams to be their architect for a MCU-like structure of the DC IPs.

 

[ironwez20]

Yea nobody wants a freaking micheal b joridan Superman movie I’m dead serious. It’s literally not hard to do Superman right. I’m not a big fan of Superman and I can come up with a good story. Idk when people all of sudden found it extremely difficult to tackle anything Superman

 

[Alatar]

Yea nobody wants a freaking micheal b joridan Superman movie I’m dead serious. It’s literally not hard to do Superman right. I’m not a big fan of Superman and I can come up with a good story. Idk when people all of sudden found it extremely difficult to tackle anything Superman

It really is baffling why WB was so gun shy about making a sequel to MoS. I don't think Grace Randolph has demonstrated herself to be reliable. But she reports Cavill wanted too much money and the studio found him difficult to work with and didn't like him. And then there's the narrative that in 2006 Superman Returns bombed, so they didn't have confidence that the character is popular enough. Although the $668M that MoS made in 2013 is actually quite respectable. But for all we know maybe they expected is to make $1B. Who knows.

I suppose it's possible that at some point WB may have decided to actively try to bury the Snyderverse such that their strategy included getting rid of Cavill as one way to hasten that. They actually got Ben Affleck to walk away from the character (does anyone believe he "just couldn't crack the script?" I don't)... Haha, well sort of walk away--or at least to exit from making his solo Batman film in 2016. But then again WB made Aquaman, WW84, and were trying to make the Flash. So that would be strange just to single those two out.

I think to some extent there is truth that the critics and GA seem to want the Big Blue Boyscout, or they say they do... but in 2006 they were given that via an homage to Reeves' 1978 Superman and they rejected it! Routh did a great job at recreating Reeves' Clark Kent and Superman. I mean, agreed, that things were "off" as well with that film. But anyway, it was in the ballpark that fans commonly say they want.

In any event, with Snyder's/Cavill's Superman have an updated version of the character that should resonate really well with audiences through a fairly straightforward classical CBM formula movie.

I loved the way Superman's Kryptonian background was handled by Snyder. I hope that for MoS 2 they write it so that, although it wasn't shown in MoS, nevertheless Kal and Jor El in fact did make a backup copy of the "key" that contains Jor El's AI! (Of course they would do that right?) Just to see Kal, Jor and Lara interacting in the scout ship "Fortress of Solitude" would be awesome. Also, to find out what is going on with the Codex (although I think that in JL 2 and/or 3 that theme would resurface).

 

[JediJones]

I saw that Mike De Luca's first movie after forming his own production company was the Nic Cage Ghost Rider. He had his hand in a few of those 'unexceptional' comic book films of the 2000s, along with a huge list of other producing credits. Basically, he looks like a pretty standard 'successful' Hollywood producer with no particular, specific creative vision. Who recently became a studio head with MGM 2 years ago. So he's not the guy to be the Kevin Feige of DC. But he sounds like someone who might be able to hire a Kevin Feige and be willing to get out of the way and let him do his thing. But, it's still unknown if De Luca gets hired at WB or not.

I have a hard time seeing DC restoring the Snyderverse while Toby Emmerich is still in charge. Emmerich's decision-making at DC has been aimless and ignorant. He shows all the signs of simply not having a clue what DC Comics are, having no plan, wildly shooting in the dark and making knee-jerk reactions to everything. Since there's no indication he's leaving, the only hope for ANY sensible management of DC films would be to have someone appointed by Zaslav as a DC czar whose authority over DC films would supersede Emmerich's.

It's very clear that the most profitable, if not the ONLY profitable run of non-Batman-related DC films in the last 40 years were the 7 films from Man of Steel through Shazam. Man of Steel through Aquaman made over $4.9 billion in gross, averaging over $800 million per movie (this is far more money than any other recent franchise from WB has made, including Godzilla/Kong). And those 6 films were all part of Snyder's plan and vision, and the three he didn't direct had clear contributions from him. WB has known how to make reliably successful Batman movies since 1989, but Snyder is the only one who was able to steer them in the direction of making hit films out of the rest of the DC canon in the last 40 years.

 

[Alatar]

I saw that Mike De Luca's first movie after forming his own production company was the Nic Cage Ghost Rider. He had his hand in a few of those 'unexceptional' comic book films of the 2000s, along with a huge list of other producing credits. Basically, he looks like a pretty standard 'successful' Hollywood producer with no particular, specific creative vision. Who recently became a studio head with MGM 2 years ago. So he's not the guy to be the Kevin Feige of DC. But he sounds like someone who might be able to hire a Kevin Feige and be willing to get out of the way and let him do his thing. But, it's still unknown if De Luca gets hired at WB or not.

I have a hard time seeing DC restoring the Snyderverse while Toby Emmerich is still in charge. Emmerich's decision-making at DC has been aimless and ignorant. He shows all the signs of simply not having a clue what DC Comics are, having no plan, wildly shooting in the dark and making knee-jerk reactions to everything. Since there's no indication he's leaving, the only hope for ANY sensible management of DC films would be to have someone appointed by Zaslav as a DC czar whose authority over DC films would supersede Emmerich's.

It's very clear that the most profitable, if not the ONLY profitable run of non-Batman-related DC films in the last 40 years were the 7 films from Man of Steel through Shazam. Man of Steel through Aquaman made over $4.9 billion in gross, averaging over $800 million per movie (this is far more money than any other recent franchise from WB has made, including Godzilla/Kong). And those 6 films were all part of Snyder's plan and vision, and the three he didn't direct had clear contributions from him. WB has known how to make reliably successful Batman movies since 1989, but Snyder is the only one who was able to steer them in the direction of making hit films out of the rest of the DC canon in the last 40 years.

In that first big trade article that broke down what Zaslav/WBD wants to do… by Deadline? I forget which magazine it was atm… anyway, in that article it mentions (“according to one insider”) that they’re not looking for a creative for the czar position, but rather someone to manage the integration/vertical reorganization of all the various DC IP silos, i.e., film, tv, games, comics, toys, merch, etc. So like a business person for that specifically.

I find that very intriguing. Because given how hands on Zaslav is being, might that suggest that he wants to assure keeping very close tabs on the creative decisions? Like maybe he’ll assemble a team for that, of course. But perhaps he’ll ultimately be the final shot-caller on the creative plan. Anyway, it’s going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

 

[JediJones]

Possibly, but that could also mean that the DC business czar will himself hire a DC creative czar who reports to him. DC Comics will have an editor-in-chief under them, so why shouldn't the DC movies have a creative lead?

Clay Staub made a strange tweet 3 days ago about the Snyderverse. He is definitely encouraging people to keep campaigning for it. Clay has worked on 5 Snyder movies.

 

[Alatar]

Yeah, he had circled the number 10 on the egg chart. Clay made this tweet on May 8th so some speculated 8 + 10 = 18. The “Upfront” media event for WBD is on May 18th.

So perhaps it’s a signal that we’ll get some sort of announcement that Snyderverse is continuing... This would not necessarily have to be JL 2, which if it’s going to happen the announcement perhaps may come at DC Fandome instead. But on May 18th maybe an announcement of any or all of the following:

• Release of the Ayer cut of SS
• Henry Cavill solo Superman film
• Ben Affleck solo Batman film (or HBO Max series)

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...ner-bros-discovery-upfront-may-18-1235128309/

 

[Alatar]

Related: Wasn‘t it also Clay Staub who recently cryptically tweeted the line from V for Vendetta “Remember, remember, the 5th of November.” I wonder if that’s the date they’re going to use for the 2022 DC Fandome. AFAIK there’s no date set for it yet.

 

[Alatar]

In case anyone is unaware, Zack Snyder, Clay Staub, and David Ayer have to make cryptic posts due to NDA, etc. But ironically it has proven a very powerful way to engage the fanbase. An unintended consequences of NDAs.

I’ve never heard anything personally negative about Snyder from anyone that’s worked with him—in fact only glowingly positive remarks about what a great guy he is to work with, how interpersonally kind and supportive he is, that he’s creatively open, etc. I’d be very surprised if he is stringing fans along. In other words, he sincerely believes there’s a real chance for JL 2 and 3 to happen or he wouldn’t be encouraging hope for it among the fan base. I would assume the the same of Staub and Ayer although for them I haven’t seen the same sorts of testimonials from actors and crew.

 

[matticus]

I'm not sure whether it is to keep the movement going or if there is actually some substance to it, but there is a lot of fans out there for Snyder. I think people just want some finality to it as much of it was thought provoking, while the negative was out of character sequences. WB just lost people when they ditched Snyder's vision they approved of, dumped him when his child committed suicide and reshot a movie he mostly had completed shooting on. That was a big rallying cry for people.