RIP DCEU
The DC Extended Universe as we know it is dead (probably?). Good riddance.
The latest multiversal superhero film “The Flash” is in theaters this weekend, seemingly bringing the DC Extended Universe as we know it to an end. I wish I could say it was fun while it lasted.
Instead, the DCEU was mired in controversy, from the disastrous production of “Justice League” to troubling allegations against “The Flash” star Ezra Miller; bloated budgets and underperforming box office; and an inconsistent vision.
There were some bright spots: “Wonder Woman” remains the franchise’s best movie, and I’m a fan of James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad.” “Aquaman” was at least the kind of silly that you’d expect from a movie about Aquaman, not to mention it was a legitimate blockbuster, grossing over $1 billion worldwide.
But since the DCEU (not its official title, mind you, but what it became known as among the fandom) kicked off in 2013 with Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel,” it’s been a mixed bag. It’s fitting then, that “The Flash” is the ultimate mixed bag: a lot of promising ingredients weighed down by convoluted fan service. If an IGN Wiki entry were a movie, this would be it.
It’s a movie made specifically for the one guy in my audience who went absolutely ballistic for each and every joke, cameo, and callback — and it has those in droves. I could not believe some of the choices made in the third act: some were utterly ridiculous and others were downright disrespectful, but either way, they didn’t serve the larger story at all. Even Michael Keaton, who hasn’t suited up as Batman in a movie in three decades, feels clumsily forced into “The Flash.” The last time we saw him he was fighting a woman in a cat suit and a guy with fin hands; why in the world would he know anything about time travel or the multiverse, and more importantly, why would he care? Why should we?
By the end of the movie, it seems as though the DCEU we’ve come to know is over — though it leaves plenty of room for questions about whether any of these characters will have a place in the new DC screen universe Gunn and Peter Safran are building. We know Gunn is writing and directing a new Superman movie with a new actor. Gunn is a capable filmmaker who knows a thing or two about making compelling superhero entertainment, so I’ve been optimistic; it wasn’t until after I saw “The Flash” that I’m a tad worried about the direction “Superman: Legacy” could go in, especially considering that subtitle.
But the uncertainty is part of the reason “The Flash” doesn’t quite work; it’s unclear whether any of this actually matters. It would appear that audiences felt similarly, as the movie is expected to underperform, and will gross less than “Black Adam” did in its opening weekend. I know a thing or two from my time reporting on box-office trends, and let me tell you — that is not good for this mega-budgeted movie. And it’s embarrassing for a movie touted by Warner Bros. execs as “one of the greatest superhero movies of all time” (it’s not).
And so the DCEU ends in much the same way it’s lived: never quite living up to the immense expectations set upon it. In a way, it’s a blessing. Between Miller’s baggage and the poor box office, WB and DC never have to worry about The Flash again, at least this iteration of the character (Wally West, Barry Allen’s nephew in the comics, is a younger, popular character who also takes up the mantle of the Flash. If the Gunn-verse ever decides to return to the Speed Force, it should just bypass Barry Allen entirely and go straight to Wally).
Like the Flash, the DCEU constantly felt like it was running in circles to turn back time for a do over. When “Man of Steel” debuted, there was little inclination that it was part of, let alone the start of, a larger cinematic universe. It wasn’t until “Batman v Superman” three years later that it expanded the world to include other DC characters, hastily introducing Batman, Wonder Woman, and more to set up “Justice League,” WB’s Avengers equivalent. When it appeared that the movie was too dark — i.e., not like “Avengers” — the studio brought in literal “Avengers” director Joss Whedon to finish the movie and lighten the mood. And when it was released and predictably flopped, the franchise took another turn: focusing on more standalone stories that were part of a universe but also didn’t necessarily tell an interconnected story. They had their own look and feel.
Since then, the quality had improved slightly — your milage may vary with R-rated entries“Birds of Prey” and “The Suicide Squad,” but they were at least 1 million times better than the original 2016 “Suicide Squad.” 2019’s “Shazam” wasn’t a box-office smash (it certainly didn’t make enough to warrant this year’s head-scratching sequel), but it clicked with critics.
But the problems continued: “Wonder Woman 1984” was a poor sequel, mired further by an HBO Max release amid the pandemic that bludgeoned its box-office. The movie seemed to come and go without so much as a shrug. The same could be said for “The Suicide Squad,” another dual release on Max and in theaters that flopped at the box office. Last year’s “Black Adam” also tanked in theaters, and without a simultaneous streaming release (and was also terrible). Most of the talk around the movie wasn’t about the movie, but was was about how star Dwayne Johnson demanded that Henry Cavill’s Superman make a cameo in a shorehorned-in after-credits scene — and now Gunn and Safran are scrapping Cavill’s Superman. This year’s “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” is a commercial and critical disaster.
And now “The Flash” is apparently going to make only $55 million over the three-day weekend. Prediction: it will fizzle out fast in theaters. There’s been a lot of takes from box-office pundits about why the movie isn’t performing well, from Miller’s off-screen antics, to WB’s simultaneous-release strategy tainting the DC brand. Maybe those are true, to an extent. But I don’t think anyone outside of our Twitter bubbles actually knows or cares who Ezra Miller is (not to mention I’m not sure how many people outside of movie buffs and diehard fans are nostalgic for Michael Keaton’s Batman).
I have a much more simple theory, and in hindsight, the writing was on the wall: nobody gives a shit about the DCEU. They may not even give a shit about DC movies in general, save for the occasional Batman. And that’s a huge problem for what’s next.
DC still has two more movies coming out this year before we move on to Gunn’s reboot with his Superman movie in 2025, but like I said, it’s unclear if these are still considered part of the pre- “Flash” DCEU. “Blue Beetle” hits theaters in August, and if a movie with a Batman in it couldn’t get people to the theater, I don’t know if Blue Beetle will. Finally, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” arrives in December. It’s been five years since the first movie, so we’ll see if there’s still good will there or if people will shrug that off, too.
Beyond that, Gunn and Safran have already teased what to expect from their new DC universe across film and television. Along with a new Superman, we’re also getting a new Batman movie, “Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” about an older Batman and his son, Damian, who becomes the new Robin in the comics. And a bunch of other stuff that sounds interesting. It’s already off to a better start than the DCEU, at least: it has a plan.