How the DCEU can still be saved AND beat the competition

Warner Brothers attempt at a cinematic shared universe, bringing classic DC characters to screen has been plagued with problems from the start. This was largely due to Zack Snyder's 'vision' for these characters being, at best, polarizing.

Man of Steel was not a good way to start a new cinematic universe. The Superman shown in that movie was not a Superman anyone who was a fan of the character would recognize. It wasn't realistic, it wasn't justified by the world being a darker place(indeed, that is justification to have a more inspiring hero)...at best it was an elseworlds take on the character, and it wasn't one that people liked.

The other problem of course, is that Man of Steel seemingly took place in a realistic universe with no hint of other fantastic people, or magic, or advanced science etc. Now all of this has been shoehorned in, and well, the results speak for themselves.

When Superman was wandering the earth in Man of Steel, why the hell wouldn't he go to Gotham, which apparently is right across the bay. That was another poor decision...if Superman's home was San Francisco and Oakland was crime ridden you really think he wouldn't interfere? Especially if people like Harley Quinn and Deadshot were out causing trouble? This is just a minor example of how badly thought out this whole shared universe attempt plan was.

There is another (rather poorly written) petition at the moment that got ~150k signatures, asking for a Zack Snyder cut of the Justice League movie. Not only will that not happen, it should not happen. Snyder simply does not get these characters, and is very much not the person to bring them to screen.

Batman v Superman should have easily made a billion. EASILY. These two characters are THE most iconic characters in comics. Many many people grew up watching the Justice League animated series. This should have been a nobrainer. How do you fuck this up? Well, by distorting the characters (and then trying to defend that as 'deconstructing' them.), making them unlikable, making horrible casting choices(What the fuck was Eisenberg Luthor?), trying to shoehorn in elements to kickstart a shared universe...honestly the list goes on and on, and the negatives significantly outweigh the positives.

Oh, and how do you fuck up Batman like Zack Snyder did? Batman doesn't fucking kill. Period. Yet this Batman kills far more than any other movie Batman to date. What a shame to get the costume, and so much else right, and then shit ojn the character like that. Some people claim this is valid because it is an elseworlds tale, or because Batman killed when he was first introduced. No. Batman doesn't kill and it is a huge part of his characters since the early 80's at least. Give us a version we know and love, and then give us your alcohol murderous take on Batman later down the line, not to jump start the universe. Also? Minor point, but please give him white eyes. If Fox and Deadpool can manage it I am confident WB can.

The problem all comes down to the same thing. WB execs handing the reigns to people who simply do not understand or get these characters. Even Geoff Johns isn't the savior people make him out to be. The DCU is such a rich place with such amazing characters, and the universe and character already have such a distinct feel from the MCU. You can watch the DC Universe Online opening cinematic, the Young Justice cartoon, the Justice League Cartoons, etc etc to see the difference and to see faithful adaptations. If DC would just adapt their properties somewhat faithfully, they would very much succeed on their own merits. Somehow, DC even missed a chance to introduce Flash before Marvel introduced their speedster. Quicksilver is a minor character in marvel while Flash is a primary member of the Justice League. How the hell would you not take advantage of that?

At the moment in time....People are not happy with this franchise, aside from some diehard fans. Now with over a year until the next installment, well...I don't think the future of this franchise is stellar, although I'm sure it will make some money. Thing is, these movies should be insanely profitable, not marginally profitable. That is a failure of WB to properly manage their assets.

So how can the DCEU be saved?

The Solution

So, Warner Brothers, I assume, would like a way to capitalize on these characters, deal with Ben Affleck wanting to leave the Batman role, and still have a cinematic universe being distinct from the MCU. Some people criticize DC as failing for not following the Marvel approach. This is wrong. DC COULD have started with a JL movie, or even a solo movie, then a smaller ensemble movie and THEN Justice League. That isn't the issue. The issue was that all but one movie in the DCEU have been extremely shitty.

The solution is simple. Reboot the DCEU by embracing the DC multiverse.

Oh, and when I say embrace the multiverse...I don't mean Flashpoint. Flashpoint was a hacky tale, the result of a small self-contained story being interfered with by WB executives (seem familiar) to launch a reboot of the DC universe. Which went horrible and led to a further reboot a mere 5 years later. No, forget all about Flashpoint. If nothing else, the last thing we need is another murderous Batman who uses guns. What would be the point of bringing in Thomas Wayne Batman anyway when we haven't built up Bruce's character, and as he uses guns and kills there is no contrast.

Forget the Aquabro movie, or put it on hold, as well as the rest of the stuff lined up. It is not wise to continue with the shared universe when it has such a poor foundation. As a huge fan of these characters, I know I won't be seeing any further movies until a reboot happens. I may download them to check them out of curiosity, but I'll be damned if I spend any more money when such disrespect to the audience has been shown.

Instead, it's time to embrace the crisis's. THIS is the solution. WB wants a way to distinguish themselves from Marvel? Embrace the multiverse!

Give us a Superman who is genuinely happy and kind and loves humanity and helping people. Not the weird round-a-bout turn we saw in Justice League. That was just creepy, and not genuine as it was so different from his last 2 performances. You can use pretty much ANY other incarnation of the character as a template and you will get this right. Additionally, recast, and let Cavill's next go at the character be his last. Give us a younger Batman as well, one who is, you know, a non murdering detective? What a great way to set up the next Batman trilogy from Matt Reeves. A version of Doomsday that isn't a cavetroll, and seeing Superman's black suit would also be nice.

Maybe we could even get a version of the joker without a moronic head tattoo?

Seriously, this is really, really, easy. Imagine, the next movie in the DCEU is called something like "Justice League: Crisis across Worlds" or something. Imagine introducing the freaking AntiMonitor, a distinctive villain with a cool story and appearance. Establish his original and motivations. This is a great way to introduce the Green Lantern Corps and Guardians as well by the way. Give us the tower.

Hell, you could even do something similar to DC's attempt to fix the New 52 by blaming their fuckup on Dr Manhattan, have some reason the DCEU is so damn dark, some villain that interfered or changed history, make it a pocket universe or something. THERE ARE SO MANY FREAKING WAYS TO FIX THIS. Honestly, you can have a new JL movie out before Aquaman(It wouldn't need that much CGI!), fix everything, give the current cast one last shot, and do a soft reboot that everyone will love, leading into the Aquabro or whatever movies. 

Bonus points, you could even include the Berlanti universe, and maybe even the Smallville universe, the Keaton Batman films...DC could already have a shared universe embracing previous works and the multiverse nature of the DCU. This alone would distance themselves from Marvel, and give many fans a lot of what they want. Many would love to see an older Keaton return to the role. Even if that doesn't happen, just showing all these different universes on screen in some minor way would still be cool.

So how would DC do this? Well, bring in a director who knows what they are doing, knows the characters (unlike Snyder), and is capable of reading more than one comic for inspiration. Also, don't fucking interfere. Trust the director. How many directors have left DC projects due to 'creative differences'?

There are many capable directors who could bring this to fruition. My pick would be Tim Story, who directed the amazing six minute intro movie for DC Universe Online, and went on to direct Deadpool to great success. But honestly, I don't care who they pick, as long as it would be someone capable.

Come on WB and DC. You can all come back from this. Each and every movie you make with these amazing properties should be hugely profitable. Stop fucking up, and start utilizing the strengths of the world you own the rights to. Give the fans what they want, and make history in the process.