The DCEU Is Dead So Isn't It Time For A New Direction?

[The Dark Knight]

The real test will when the new films start premiering and if they underperform, much like Gunn's The Suicide Squad. Telling everyone you have a ten year plan is okay at the moment because you're apparently communicating transparency and competency. There isn't any serious heat right now as they have breathing room and everything is conceptual. But if things aren't a raging fire of success, that extensive plan quickly becomes a burden. Do you persevere no matter what? If the initial films don't bring enthusiasm, and people don't like the casting, it will be a battle very early on, and one that would be hard to build from.

[thecolorsblend]

The real test will when the new films start premiering and if they underperform, much like Gunn's The Suicide Squad. Telling everyone you have a ten year plan is okay at the moment because you're apparently communicating transparency and competency. There isn't any serious heat right now as they have breathing room and everything is conceptual. But if things aren't a raging fire of success, that extensive plan quickly becomes a burden. Do you persevere no matter what? If the initial films don't bring enthusiasm, and people don't like the casting, it will be a battle very early on, and one that would be hard to build from.

Indeed.

I wouldn't want this job. But if I had the job and if people didn't embrace my direction overnight, I'd remind everyone that most of Marvel's Phase One technically underperformed. The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Cap weren't exactly box office bonanzas. They did well enough. But they didn't break any records. The first Iron Man films and the Avengers were the big successes. And yet, nobody thought about scrapping the MCU at that point.

That would be my answer. If I had the job. Which I don't. And never will. But that's what I would say.

[The Laughing Fish]

I read that Gunn and Safran want the DCU actors to reprise their roles in video games and animation. A character artist called Del, who works for the studio that made the game The Last of Us, explains why this is such a stupid and unrealistic idea.

James Gunn just stated that DC want the film, games, and animation characters to be consistent and played by the same actors. I'll never work on a DC title ever again if that's upheld. You've lost your mind if you think Hollywood can outdo @tarastrong's Harley or any VA actor.

These writers and voice actors do 100 versions of everything. They are in the booth doing 600 lines of dialogue just to end up with 20 of the best in the game. You think you're going to get Robert Pattinson to outwork a VA actor? And for a budget that makes sense?

Good luck.

Games & Cartoons are not 2 hour Pixar films. These mediums have thousands of lines. Hours of dialogue.

The only 2 movie actors that I've seen keep up are Mark Hamill's, Joker and Haley Joel Osment's, Sora. And they became full VA actors. They cleared their schedule for years.

https://twitter.com/TheCartelDel/status/1620513280711360519

Proper video games - not cheap mobile games - are not something that can be mass-produced so easily. Some of these games take many years to develop. Jedi Fallen Order, for example, took five years to get made. Yes, the sequel is taking much less development time, but that's because the experience and the work put into the first game allowed it for a much easier process.

This is simply Gunn's ego of wanting to dictate all areas of the DC brand, not having a clue whether or not it's even logistically possible. As if writing Superman and Creature Commandos when he's already the co-CEO isn't already bad enough.

In other news, WBD is under fire by the Writers' Guild for going back on promises for more opportunities for content creators. There is also speculation that a writers' strike is highly possible, which might be a big setback for the planned DCU TV announcements.

https://deadline.com/2023/01/wga-west-blasts-warner-bros-discovery-writers-strike-1235244477/
https://deadline.com/2023/01/as-writers-strike-looms-reality-producers-optimistic-unscripted-boom-1235241575/

While We Got This Covered is hardly the most reliable news source for the vast majority of the time, they claim a source in the industry is saying David Zaslav's decision-making is causing a lot of unrest.

Despite studios being able to cancel shows they see fit, it is still causing a ripple effect that could lead to another Hollywood writer's strike. One of the biggest perpetrators of canceling shows has been the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav. An unnamed TV agent stated, "It's more about him [Zaslav] in particular since he's taken over and what the hell's going on over there."

Everyone has certainly been questioning Zaslav's moves since he took over WBD, especially when it came to canceling Batgirl even though it was completed. Despite the current DC Films CEO Peter Safran backing the move to cancel the film, it made the company look as though they were willing to cancel anything at a moment's notice. That has certainly been the case with the myriad of cancelations that followed, which could lead to another Hollywood writer's strike.

We would imagine that Warner Bros. Discovery's moves made it harder for networks like AMC, Netflix, and Peacock to have casually trimmed the programs that weren't keeping up with the success of others. Now, a Hollywood writer's strike could be imminent, as many jobs have been lost in the past few months alone. The strike could then lead to many more shows being canceled.

A Hollywood writer's strike right now would cause many more issues, as more shows could be canceled if that were to happen. There cannot be scripted TV shows without the writers needed to keep said programs going. Should a strike occur, it would put a standstill on many media companies' release slates.

The biggest issue is that many of these media companies can cancel shows to turn them into tax write-offs, which is something that WBD has enacted more than others. Should a show not be performing to the highest caliber, that show could just be done away with so the studio behind it wouldn't have to shell out more money. It could then be turned into a write-off to ensure the studio receives some sort of profit back for the show's underperforming, but this fact could lead to the next Hollywood strike.

https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/hollywood-strike-tv-cancelations.html

[The Laughing Fish]

Chuck Dixon is very skeptical about Gunn being chosen as the shepherd for DCU, going so far to say "I don't think he knows what the audience wants."

https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/02/09/legendary-dc-comics-writer-chuck-dixon-reacts-to-james-gunns-dcu-slate-i-dont-think-he-knows-what-the-audience-wants/

I'd say it's not so much that Gunn doesn't know, it's that he doesn't care.

Dixon then pivoted to wondering why James Gunn was picked to be the DC Studios CEO, "The choice of Gunn to basically be the basket they put all their eggs in, I don't understand it given his track record."

"Yes, he had enormous success with Guardians of the Galaxy, but if you look over the rest of the films he's been involved with it's okay. I mean they earned money. They weren't blockbusters. They weren't huge. Really, the only big thing he was involved with was the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise."

Dixon then opined, "While I find a lot of his stuff entertaining, over time you kind of see the notes coming. I'm kind of familiar with his repertoire. I don't see how it's going to translate to DC, and I don't understand why in an industry like entertainment where everything is about conservation of risk you would hand over everything to one guy."

"Now, I understand there's other films that in production that he won't be involved with, but the idea is, as I see it, is that once all of those films are finished and released everything coming out of DC in movies and television is going to be Gunn. All Gunn all the time. I just don't see how you can take a slate like that and have any hits. There's no diversity of thought or approach. Everything is going to be seen through the lens of one guy," he stated.

The only reason Gunn and Safran got these jobs is because nobody in Hollywood wanted the job. Now they're hired, they're just hijacking the stuff they want, not what most people want. Such as the angry reaction over Cavill's humiliation.

Sorry state of affairs.

[The Joker]

Chuck Dixon is very skeptical about Gunn being chosen as the shepherd for DCU, going so far to say "I don't think he knows what the audience wants."

https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/02/09/legendary-dc-comics-writer-chuck-dixon-reacts-to-james-gunns-dcu-slate-i-dont-think-he-knows-what-the-audience-wants/

I'd say it's not so much that Gunn doesn't know, it's that he doesn't care.

Dixon then pivoted to wondering why James Gunn was picked to be the DC Studios CEO, "The choice of Gunn to basically be the basket they put all their eggs in, I don't understand it given his track record."

"Yes, he had enormous success with Guardians of the Galaxy, but if you look over the rest of the films he's been involved with it's okay. I mean they earned money. They weren't blockbusters. They weren't huge. Really, the only big thing he was involved with was the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise."

Dixon then opined, "While I find a lot of his stuff entertaining, over time you kind of see the notes coming. I'm kind of familiar with his repertoire. I don't see how it's going to translate to DC, and I don't understand why in an industry like entertainment where everything is about conservation of risk you would hand over everything to one guy."

"Now, I understand there's other films that in production that he won't be involved with, but the idea is, as I see it, is that once all of those films are finished and released everything coming out of DC in movies and television is going to be Gunn. All Gunn all the time. I just don't see how you can take a slate like that and have any hits. There's no diversity of thought or approach. Everything is going to be seen through the lens of one guy," he stated.

The only reason Gunn and Safran got these jobs is because nobody in Hollywood wanted the job. Now they're hired, they're just hijacking the stuff they want, not what most people want. Such as the angry reaction over Cavill's humiliation.

Sorry state of affairs.

As per usual, there's a lot of credibility and syllogistic reasoning in what Mr. Dixon is saying.

[The Laughing Fish]

I'm not at all surprised if this rumour is true: according to an insider, WBD and Gunn are bluffing on most of their recent DCU announcements and they're actually holding out for the biggest bidder in yet another planned merger, in order to fund other projects they haven't announced.

Here are some of the highlights that caught my eye.

He states, "Warner Bros. Discovery with both DC and Harry Potter is to soft reboot the franchises in order to make them seem more viable and healthy. However, rebooting them with projects that are highly interconnected and/or episodic in chronological consistency is not desired at this time."

"The reason might surprise," he asserts. "Warner Bros. Discovery allegedly expects to be purchased within the next three to five years. Therefore it is not in Warner Bros. Discovery's interest to craft huge franchise worlds like seen in the MCU because such a thing would make a potential buyer beholden to this new roadmap/story narrative."

"Instead, Warner Bros. Discovery allegedly feels the more lucrative option is to rejuvenate the franchises with non-connected properties while still unloading bad inventory so that when a company like Apple or Amazon when they purchase them potentially they get the benefits of a refreshed franchise plus the ability to craft their new cinematic universe in whatever way they choose," WDW Pro explains.

"Furthermore, Gunn may have been brought into the fold with this as the plan all along," he relayed. "Have fun with scrappy, passion projects in the short term then go crazy with huge movies once an Apple or Amazon budget comes spraying cash everywhere."

He then notes, "According to these sources of Warner Bros. Discovery, the later projects in this recent phase one reveal of DC may not even happen and that might be okay as part of the bigger picture."

Next, he reveals his source informed him that the plan James Gunn revealed for his DCU slate is merely Plan A and that there could be other plans in the works.

"I'm told that Gunn, Zaslov, Safran, they have a Plan A DC roadmap — everybody remember that terminology: Plan A DC roadmap — that only goes into effect if Apple or Amazon buy and approve, though it could be used in negotiations to show it's primed, it's unaffordable for Warner Bros. with its current situation, but an Apple or Amazon could fund it."

"By the way, all of this is the real reason I'm told Cavill was let go," he concluded. "They're in a hold until the big guns bring big money to the table."

When Chato questioned, "If they get the money they'd bring Cavill back in?"

WDW Pro further explained what he believes his source was communicating to him about Plan A, "I don't think so. I think that's too far off. I think what they're saying right now is there's no need for him to sit there waiting. They need to go ahead and rip that Band-aid off because this is going to be a years-long process."

He elaborated, "But that there is a huge — like James Gunn if he can get the budget he's already got it planned out, he and Safron, and Zaslav, what this would look like. And it seems to me like that Plan A that, 'Hey, if we had the ability to do $300 million budgets or whatever per movie this is what it would look like.' It sounds like that's in place and ready once they begin to have attempts to purchase Warner."

https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/02/10/james-gunns-dcu-slate-rumored-to-be-bait-for-potential-buyer-allegedly-has-secret-plan-in-case-apple-amazon-or-universal-gobble-up-warner-bros/

Figures, all this stuff like this animated Creature Commandos project appears to be nothing more but cheap content, approved by a debt-ridden company.

I question the wisdom how Zaslav and other exec could look at Gunn as a proven director when his latest film lost $100 million at the box office. As Chuck Dixon already pointed out, Gunn isn't much of an attraction without the MCU.

[Silver Nemesis]

Previously Gunn said this:

Now Affleck has said this:

I would not direct something for the [James] Gunn DC. Absolutely not. I have nothing against James Gunn. Nice guy, sure he's going to do a great job. I just wouldn't want to go in and direct in the way they're doing that. I'm not interested in that.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/ben-affleck-air-production-company-grammys-memes-justice-league-1235353301/

The "the way they're doing that" part sounds ominous. Ben knows the plan and wants nothing to do with it.

[The Dark Knight]

Completely understandable on Ben's part. What happened during the JL reshoots would be seared into your brain and you'd tell yourself never to forgot the agony of that moment. Imagine signing up for a new comic based film and having all that flood back, leaving you thinking why on Earth you came back for more. Staying away is the safe option. Especially when the new DCU will be even more interconnected than the DCEU ever was. Writing a script is one thing, but directing is another. Gunn has put a huge target on his back by doing both with Superman Legacy. I can't stress how much I wouldn't want that job. Superman fans aren't the easiest to please, and you have a vocal Cavill supporter base offside. If he doesn't bank big money and justify a reboot there will be nowhere to hide.

[Travesty]

Superman fans aren't the easiest to please

They're the pickiest fanbase I've ever seen. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Superman fans say they've never liked a single live-action Superman movie. They get upset if the costume isn't the right shade of blue, and they all want a different shade of blue. And yet, they try to tell you how simple it is to "get right".

Yeah, good luck Gunn. lol

[thecolorsblend]

Superman fans aren't the easiest to please

They're the pickiest fanbase I've ever seen. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Superman fans say they've never liked a single live-action Superman movie. They get upset if the costume isn't the right shade of blue, and they all want a different shade of blue. And yet, they try to tell you how simple it is to "get right".

Yeah, good luck Gunn. lol

The problem is that Superman fans are a bit spoiled for choice. Donner, Singer, Lois & Clark, Smallville, STAS, George Reeves, Superman & Lois, Snyder, the list just goes on. And that's just external media.

With comics, you've got the Golden Age, late Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, Post-Crisis, New Earth/Secret Origin, Birthright, All-Star Superman, Earth One, New 52, the Miller/Romita Superman- Year One etc.

All that stuff works together to form divisions in the Superman fanbase. "I am of Byrne's MOS", "I am of Snyder's MOS", "I am of the Silver Age", "I am of Christopher Reeve", etc. There's no unifying force to hold everything together.

Mind you, the other way of looking at it is that there are hardcore Fantastic Four fans who would probably LOVE to have the Superman fanbase's problems of having too many choices.