Now that Supergirl is in theaters, it feels like an important movie for the future of the DC Universe.

Do you think it's the kind of film that helps DC build long-term momentum, or do you think it'll take a few more successful projects before the new universe really finds its footing?

Man of Tomorrow needs to land for this one to be seen as an anomaly, but the larger problem for the hype of it all is there's no roadmap

I actually think Clayface will be the thermometer. If that movie doesn't make a massive profit, even though it costs so little, the future of DC in theaters is no longer assured. If it becomes a hit, well, then we can justify the current strategy of focusing more on individual-ish projects than a clear roadmap.

Possible hot take, but part of me has been wondering if there's really a high demand for a DCU among general moviegoers. I'm not saying the DCU can't work, but this is just a really interesting time to be trying to launch a shared comic book movie universe. It feels like the zeitgeist has sort of moved on. Even Marvel has had its fair share of struggles at the box office. Superhero movies aren't the dominant form of popcorn entertainment like they were in the 2010s. The days of Aquaman headlining a $1 billion blockbuster over Christmas are over.

I think Superman was successful because it's a Superman movie that was well-received, and Superman is a popular character that a lot of people are familiar with. I don't think many casual viewers cared about the Justice Gang popping up or Supergirl making a cameo. They just wanted a feel-good, entertaining Superman movie. The novelty of the shared universe model has worn off. Endgame was the perfect jumping off point for the masses, and it's hard to get everyone back on board.

I've been wondering if we're heading back to like a pre-Iron Man landscape where unless your superhero movie is about one of the major A-list characters that's a safe box office bet, you're gonna have a hard time getting it off the ground. Spider-Man is gonna be massive. The Batman 2 will be massive. Spider-Man and Batman are always massive. But say Gunn comes out at Hall H this year and says they've got Aquaman and Flash reboots coming in 2028. Will general audiences care?

Personally, I'd be perfectly fine with a Gunn-directed Superman trilogy and then he peaces out to do his own thing while WB/Paramount try to sort everything out. I just think superhero movies are in a really different place now and it's hard to make a shared movie universe a big event. Maybe a year from now this ends up on Old Takes Exposed, and Safran is smart to not publicly overreact to one movie underperforming, I'm just really curious to see how this all pans out. I hope it does because I'm a big fan of Gunn.

Didn't mean for this to be so long!

14 hours ago, ChrisA90 said:

Possible hot take, but part of me has been wondering if there's really a high demand for a DCU among general moviegoers.

I agree. I think superheroes are not an automatic success, so they need to:

A) Ensure the quality is pristine (which wasn't the case with Supergirl)
B) Budgets are waaaay lower than they are

I've been saying Clayface is the real DCU test, and after Supergirl, I'm doubling down on that.

There's no path for these movies to follow, and thus no path for fans to follow. It's good because there's no pressure on the average viewer to watch Supergirl to say "understand" Man of Tomorrow, but also there's also no built in incentive to see the universe expand. Right now it just feels like a shotgun blast of tv shows and characters with no concrete ties to one another. It won't seem like a full universe until there are core events that films lead towards a la Marvel.

Going against the Marvel grain is the right move when starting out this new DCU, but it might have the adverse effect in getting the general audience interested in seeing each one if they don't seem "important" to an overall puzzle