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Rumor: Warner Brothers rethinking entire DC film slate based on Batman v Superman

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I think people are forgetting that DC Comics entire history revolves around radically reworking stuff on the fly, merging characters and universes together, and generally chaotically stumbling into awesome stuff.

Why should the films be any different?

Because thats a terrible way to make a film, let alone a multi-billion dollar franchise?
 

NotLiquid

Member
I think people are forgetting that DC Comics entire history revolves around radically reworking stuff on the fly, merging characters and universes together, and generally chaotically stumbling into awesome stuff.

Why should the films be any different?

Movies are way more expensive to make than comics and the casual movie goer can be quite fickle unlike the dedicated comic reader.
 
Superman is John Cena, Batman is the Rock, and now they have to team up to take down evil authority figure Lex McMahon and his new monster heel Doomsday.
 

Blatz

Member
Drew McWeeny is reporting that apparently the suits at Warner Brothers are less than happy with the initial feedback from Batman v Superman.

If you watch the video, apparently a lot of people are sweating because the reception of those who have seen the film is not what they want. According to him people love Ben Affleck and they love Jesse Eisenberg. The rest? Eh...

In fact he goes on to guess that while Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman will go forward as is, Justice League will be pushed back to be heavily retooled and he'd bet that Zach Snyder won't be directing it. Instead, Warner will shell out whatever it takes to get Ben Affleck to do a Batman film, and then refocus the DC Cinematic Universe around him.

It seems to me that there's an implication there that Superman is, arguably once again, a mess in this film.

Again, this is all a rumor, so nothing's solidified. But I can Warner being nervous given that the trailers haven't necessarily been warmly received.

So what do you think? Would you like to see the DC Cinematic Universe return to a Batman-centric view?

Based on the trailers and Snyder's track record, this does not surprise me, if true. Movie looks like a hot mess to me.
 

DeathyBoy

Banned
Crisis on Infinite Movie Screens

Pretty much.

I mean I still laugh at people going 'how can Supergirl and The Flash crossover different universes 'NO SUPERMAN IN ARROWVERSE' lol." Like that's an average Wednesday in terms of DC Comics, where last months issue of The Flash somehow manages to contradict Flashpoint which led to the creation of the New 52 Flash.

DC Comics is the most wonderfully insane brand of fiction ever created and I for one hope the films make as little sense as the average comic-book. Right down to ignoring what goes on in the solo films completely, openly going 'meh' to anything non Justice League to the extent where Superman kills Zod, then Zod shows up in the Justice League and it's never explained how he's alive.
 

spookyfish

Member
Batfleck is one of the few reasons I'm hyped for this movie, so I can't blame them for this decision.

And then there's people like me feel the opposite.

Affleck looks like Affleck trying to be Batman, and Eisenberg looks/sounds horrible as Lex from (the little) I've seen.

It's pretty much turned me off of seeing this in the theater.

I could absolutely be wrong, (and it'd be cool if I am) but each subsequent trailer has only solidified my opinion.
 
At least suicide squad ought to be fun

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I don't know why people find this so unbelievable. If Guardians of the Galaxy didn't do well or wasn't tracking well I'm sure Marvel's film slate would look super different as well
 

Verendus

Banned
Superman is John Cena, Batman is the Rock, and now they have to team up to take down evil authority figure Lex McMahon and his new monster heel Doomsday.
No, friend.

Let me give you the right analogy for this movie that you will come to understand is correct once you see this movie. I call it The Dark Knight analogy.

Batman is Batman. Superman is Harvey Dent. Lex Luthor is The Joker. Much like Harvey Dent represented two sides of a coin for Gotham's future, Superman is much the same for the world. Only there's no heel turn because The Joker cannot win.
 

FoneBone

Member
I think people are forgetting that DC Comics entire history revolves around radically reworking stuff on the fly, merging characters and universes together, and generally chaotically stumbling into awesome stuff.

Why should the films be any different?

What works for a niche medium like comics is very different from film, where you're only releasing 2-3 "issues" per year, each one (probably) costs over $150 million not including marketing, and each film needs to appeal to a wide audience to be successful.
 
I don't believe this one bit.

Not the part about Superman being a mess in the movie, that's expected.

But there's no way they're just gonna can their plans that quickly.

If they were gonna change things around so much because of the reception to Superman I feel like they would have done something drastic after Man of Steel.

But I probably don't know what I'm talking about lol

They did. It's called Batman v Superman. Man of Steel 2... in whatever form, is still forthcoming.

Here's the original plan from the press release:

And, in a massive expansion of the Studio’s DC Entertainment-branded content, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema will release a slate of at least 10 movies—as well as stand-alone Batman and Superman films—from 2016 through 2020 that expands this prized universe of characters:

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” directed by Zack Snyder (2016)
“Suicide Squad,” directed by David Ayer (2016)
“Wonder Woman,” starring Gal Gadot (2017)
“Justice League Part One,” directed by Zack Snyder, with Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Amy Adams reprising their roles (2017)
“The Flash,” starring Ezra Miller (2018)
“Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa (2018)
“Shazam” (2019)
“Justice League Part Two,” directed by Zack Snyder (2019)
“Cyborg,” starring Ray Fisher (2020)
“Green Lantern” (2020)

Even Cavill knows this isn't a Superman film:
“As far as the individual character is concerned, this is not a Superman sequel,” says Cavill. “It’s more of an introduction to Batman, an opening to Justice League, and an expansion of the world that was created in Man of Steel.”
“There’s plenty of time for individual Superman sequels,” the actor says. “He’s a tough character to tell. People like the darker vigilante. I think it speaks to the human psyche more easily rather than the god-like being that we can’t really understand. Once we have a more expansive universe we can delve more into the character of Superman and hopefully tell more stories.”

To get a feel for how fast this moved, a Man of Steel sequel was reported on June 10, 2013. The film came out on June 14. Snyder said he hadn't yet talked to WB about the sequel ideas on June 27, 2013 or slightly before that. By July 20, it was a Batman vs. Superman film, based on a jokey easter egg pitch Synder made. That's how fast this all moved.

Warner Bros is flying by the seat of its pants and it needs these films to hit, especially after the disastrous flops of Pan and In the Heart of the Sea hit the bottom line.
 

BadAss2961

Member
MoS made $670 million on a $225 million budget. The ASM films had a similar budget and gross and everyone called those massive disappointments.
Because people didn't like the movie. No one talks about ASM anymore. Kinda like Superman Returns, which also didn't do bad in theaters, but left no impression.

Critics were mixed on Man of Steel but people generally liked the movie. It did well enough at the box office and killed it in home video sales. To this day, for better or worse, fans and critics alike can't shut up about Man of Steel.
 

wildfire

Banned
In fact he goes on to guess that while Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman will go forward as is, Justice League will be pushed back to be heavily retooled and he'd bet that Zach Snyder won't be directing it. Instead, Warner will shell out whatever it takes to get Ben Affleck to do a Batman film, and then refocus the DC Cinematic Universe around him.

This is so funny and pathetic. I was amazed at how much Batman dominated animated Justice League and it's going to happen to the movie franchises too.
 

Pau

Member
I'm okay with whatever it takes to get Bruce's children on screen wit their dad. (And for it to be good obviously.)

I do like the rest of the WB universe and don't think Bruce needs to be the center at all despite his family being my faves but if I had to choose...
 

DeathoftheEndless

Crashing this plane... with no survivors!
Pure speculation on my part, but the one thing that stands out to me in the trailers is that Batman comes across as a hero and Superman a villain. Superman's destructive fight with Zod is revisited, he and his army torture Batman in the nightmare, he tries to forcefully make Batman retire, and Batman is the clear underdog in their fight. So if the rumor is true, it could be that Superman's image problem from Man of Steel isn't much better. I don't know what WB could do about that other than reduce his role in the universe.
 

munchie64

Member
I trust Drew, but it seems weird that they would do this now. If the movie comes out a disappoints in whatever aspects then, sure. But why now?
 

OmegaFax

Member
Batman's is downright versatile character. Concurrently, there's Arkham games, cartoons, live action films, and a friggin' Lego Batman movie in development.
 

DeathyBoy

Banned
What works for a niche medium like comics is very different from film, where you're only releasing 2-3 "issues" per year, each one (probably) costs over $150 million not including marketing, and each film needs to appeal to a wide audience to be successful.

I don't know, The Avengers felt eerily similar to most 'event' comic-books I've read recently.
 
everything i hear about this movie makes it sound like a godawful mess

my girlfriend has been demanding i go see it with her but i'm thinking about trying to back out at this point

so you won't go see a movie because the internet told you not to?

What universe do you live in?

one where MoS did good at the box office and outside of internet denizens, was well received.

MoS made $670 million on a $225 million budget. The ASM films had a similar budget and gross and everyone called those massive disappointments.

different expectations I guess.
 
So MoS was considered a box office disappointment, then?

It made money. By the skin of its teeth.

But it also fell way below studio expectations and led to the president of WB, Jeff Robinov, resigning. He went on record before release that he expected it to be WB's "most lucrative film," which at the time and still today is the last Harry Potter film. Obviously, that didn't happen. Not even by half.
 
Something about this smells like bullshit to me.

yeah it seems like a mess of misinformation coming from all sides. so many uncertainties around WB's future plans. we'll see how they fare with their first big movie in about a month and a half.

suicide squad seems like a sure bet right now though. i think the tone they went for and the marketing is really refreshing. even doucheswag joker works imo.
 
Yeah, the 1978 Superman was huge when it was released. And Superman II was well received as well. Everything afterwards has been a bit of a mess, though.

Superman Returns was awesome. I enjoyed MoS as well and really don't care much for batman so if this rumor pans out the DCU is dead to me.
 
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