WB/DC Cinematic Universe News

Ultimately this is all coming down to money. Gunn has an unenviable job, he's got to hit it out of the park the first time. WB has been waiting for a Marvel sized hit. On the other hand, he's lucky, he gets to see how a bunch of movies will do, Black Adam, Shazam 2, The Flash movie, which I'm intrigued to see how it does given Ezra Miller's...troubles, the press junket is going to be hilarious. So Gunn gets to see what works, what doesn't and move forward.

James Gunn, Peter Safran Are Mapping Out “Eight- to 10-Year Plan” for DC

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dc-movies-james-gunn-peter-safran-1235259792/

Marvel still beating DC in the CBM war

I agree with you. However, the past couple of Marvel movies have misfired, both critically and box office. In truth they've made their money back, but not the boffo box office that other have done. With the exception of Spider Man which did very well.

If DC does get it's act together, and puts forward a cohesive and most importantly, different, take on the Superhero genre they can breathe life into the genre.

I think WB / DC Cinema will do WELL going forward if they remember these key points:

The CORE Justice League members (Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman) - are like Gods. Batman - Batfleck - of course, nearly KILLED a God-like being in BvS so he definitely fits the bill as far as danger.

Wonder Woman and Aqua-Man are both LEADERS in their respective worlds (Atlantis and Themyscira) - both commanding nearly COUNTLESS allies to their side if need be.

Flash - Fastest man alive. Much more powerful than some realize - see his REVERSAL OF TIME scene at the end of Zach Snyder's Justice League.

Cyborg - LIMITLESS command of the Cyber Spectrum and borne of a Mother Box.

Martian Manhunter - Choosing to live among humans for MANY years in secret. An immensely powerful being that made an appearance in both MoS AND Zach Snyder's Justice League.

Green Lantern - outside of the firepower and versatility a GL offers they are ALSO special in that GL's are chosen to wear their rings out of TRILLIONS of beings in the universe......................................

Just THOSE I listed right there pose a much more different take on Superheroes - different than even MARVEL. They are DIFFERENT in how they relate to humans....how they relate to EACH OTHER. They each run the gamut of being bitter towards humanity (and for good reason in some cases), and love and admiration for humanity.

They are SPECIAL - in some cases moreso than Marvel's take on super-powered beings.

Additionally - James Gunn NEEDS to take a HARD LOOK at "Wakanda Forever" and "Black Panther" and start asking SERIOUS questions about adding / integrating MILESTONE (DC) characters into DC's Cinematic Universe.

"Wakanda" is a COUNTRY. Milestone (DC) - is an entire UNIVERSE of Diversity that is yet to be TAPPED........................

Add more FEMALE Superheroes to Justice League. Hawk Girl, Zatanna, Rocket, Vixen, Black Canary are just a few I can think of but there are MANY MORE.............

I believe if James Gunn follows this format then he won't go wrong.

WB / DC Cinema is going to get just ONE MORE CHANCE at this and they need to swing for the fences.

Mr. Gunn - do NOT turn Justice League into "Guardians of the Galaxy" - cracking jokes and all............

You will lose many serious fans of DC Franchise and we'll see through the charade immediately.

Stay true to the COMICS - add some NEEDED Diversity - even POWER Diversity. "Power Diversity" is adding characters like Icon to WB / DC Cinematic Universe - a Black character that is just as powerful as Superman.

WB / DC Cinema CAN achieve GREAT things.......It CAN be done - but again we get only ONE MORE chance....................

An important thing to remember, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman et al are iconic characters. Don't change them so they're unfamiliar to the non comic book geek crowd. They know who Batman is, they know who Superman is, don't stray to far. I recall an interview with Zach Snyder, who said he was taken aback by how attached people were to the Christopher Reeve version of Superman. That version is almost 50 years old now, is there room for evolution, absolutely, but don't make him too unfamiliar.

I'm not terribly worried about Gunn. His work as a writer and director on super-hero projects lets me know he gets the source material and at the very least it'll be helpful in bringing in other creative folk who also understand. How much that will help him in dealing with execs who are more interested in seeing a return on investment than anything else remains to be seen.

I have other thoughts, but I need more sleep before I try and dive into them (holiday work schedules are EVER so much fun for getting a decent night's sleep LOL).

That's an interesting question. I just took a look at Suicide Squad 2's box office numbers and they weren't great(169 million worldwide box office versus a 185 million budget). It didn't make it's budget back. So Gunn obviously has something else up his sleeve. I like him, and I'm rooting for him, but there were obviously conversations behind the scenes that swayed the suits.

A reason why I'm not worried too much about James Gunn taking the lead for DC's movies? He posted this image on Twitter with two simple words: "Making plans."



It's that kind of thing that prompts me to think he gets it. LOL

I think Gunn's going to be allright, maybe his strength is creative oversight, rather than movie direction, like Feige. I remember JJ Abrams was in this job for awhile, but I don't recall hearing anything about his plans. And certainly there was no overarching plan that was laid out.

DC revealed the poster for Blue Beetle!

..... Right.

No thanks. Let him get the proper DC Universe characters in order first like a responsible Head of Studio should instead of concentrating on bringing in absolute Z-Listers for no other reason than "Diversity".

Black Adam wasn't made "just to be diverse", but because they wanted another DC Heavy hitter with a proper story to tell out there. The cast and extras werent predominantly "non-white" because itd be "Diverse", but because it takes place in Khandaq. Granted, the first Movies story wasn't fantastic, but if the sequels going where fans of Black Adam think it's going then it could be fantastic.

I've no problem at all with representation, but that's not what you're asking for. You want a Black Hero shoe-horned in, I'd rather see a Black Hero there because they should be there, because it makes sense. Icon or whoever else from Milestone wouldn't make sense at all.

A lot to unpack here but I'll try -

Who do "You" consider to be "Proper DC Universe Characters"? Let me see your choices and how you'd represent them. Feel free to either list them or post pictures.

I don't care how Black Adam fits into the overall story line for DC Movies going forward. Do I love Black Adam? Of course - both the character AND the actor Dwayne Johnson. Am I concerned about HIS input into some things? Yes I am....

DJ did an AWESOME thing speaking out for Henry Cavill - advocating for him to reprise his role as Superman. He IS a GREAT Superman, as evidenced by Zach Snyder. As for Dwayne Johnson perhaps advocating for SOMETHING ELSE that MAY NOT BE related to the actual COMICS? Just because he's playing Black Adam? I'd be hesitant of putting Dwayne completely in the driver's seat - unless it fits seamlessly in a movie and makes sense.

Let James Gunn or Zach Snyder or whomever do THEIR thing.

Is there a connecting storyline from the COMICS with Black Adam, Shazam and Superman? I believe there IS. There is ALSO a good DvD with these three included, from a few years ago. Is James Gunn heading towards a SIMILAR Big Screen movie series with these three? It would appear so.

"IF" James Gunn is heading towards this then what is the End Game, if you will - of such a Threesome? Is it a movie or two down the road where all three meet and duke it out? Is THIS the "Grand Eight Year DC Movies Plan" that James Gunn proposes?

"IF" that is the case, then that's the equivalent of a Flat Tire - at least to ME. I'd hope that the END GAME down the road is Darkseid or Brainiac, a few years from now.....sort of like the GLORIOUS buildup that MARVEL had with THANOS......

As far as Milestone (DC) characters? Yes I have a soft spot for them. They are overlooked and ignored by most. I have a running thread with Icon and Rocket that I update from time to time - telling their story to a mostly unknowing DC Fan base who cares to read it. In issue #16 - Icon and Superman ACTUALLY meet.....and the merging of their respective universes begin.....

To "Insert" Icon and Rocket into DC Cinematic Universe wouldn't be a stretch. It WOULD be a BOLD MOVE....



- but I'd rather have Icon in the DC Cinematic Universe than THIS



If you're talking about boldness and making a DIVERSE series - look no further than Justice League Unlimited. That Animated Series featured Dan Riba, Dwayne McDuffie, and several other talents and is perhaps the MOST Diverse Justice League iteration out there









There are a total of SIXTY-ONE characters in JLU. Of course some of them barely got any screen time but I think we can see the intent behind the writers of that show.

Now IF those writers I mentioned "Stayed True to Canon" and "the norm" then we'd have something like this:



But Dwayne McDuffie, Dan Riba and Co. chose to replace Hal Jordan with John Stewart and Aqua Man (at least initially) with Hawk Girl.

I think there is a fine line - a NEEDED fine line - with producing a STORY as WELL AS INCLUSION. If you go too far to one side you ruffle feathers, in this lost world we live in nowadays.

But if ANYTHING Justice League Unlimited proved to me that you can create a DIVERSE Justice League with a CREDIBLE over-arching storyline - one that stretched out over several years.

To those that want to KEEP Milestone Characters SEPARATE? To ME that's HORRIBLE. We've FOUGHT for INCLUSION for literally HUNDREDS of years and we FINALLY get a DC Universe with powerful, UNIQUE and special characters only to KEEP THEM SEPARATE?

That's unfathomable, to ME at least. Unacceptable.

Dwayne McDuffie ALSO had ANOTHER Diverse Justice League - with Icon's Shadow Cabinet confronting Superman's Justice League:



That several-issue merger ended with BOTH teams fighting THIS baddie:







This classic series from 2009 ALSO featured Jason Rusch Firestorm, Black Lightning and Dr. Light, among others. Milestone Characters were featured prominently, as well - like Hardware, Iota, Donner, Blitzen, Payback, Twighlight, Iron Butterfly and others.

Diversity isn't hard.....you have to be BOLD and KNOW YOUR COMICS but it CAN be done. It CAN be done on the Big Screen as well.

The funny thing is that we ALMOST had JOHN STEWART (The talented Wayne T. Carr) on the DC Big Screen - if WB / DC Media would've left Zach Snyder ALONE:







I'm never shying away from a Diverse DC Universe - not ONLY in PHYSICAL likeness but in POWER, as well.

Thank God that Rosa Parks didn't settle for a SEPARATE America.



I'm not settling for a separate DC Universe - with Milestone (DC) characters squirreled away somewhere.

Yeah I'm not reading all that.

Sorry you just seem to have a habit of posting the same pictures and spouting the same nonsense over and over, even in threads that weren't even about characters or representation or any of it.

As to the only question I could make it to before noticing your post declining into it's usual brand of madness, who do I want to see in DC Films? Characters who fit. It's just that simple. No shoe-horning like you want, no "hey we made sure there's a black/asian/hispanic person in this film just to tick a box". Logical choices from someone with a more settled mind.

Considering however I can see another 57 page reply coming unless I include a list of some sort, then here's everyone who makes far more sense than any forgettable Milestone Characters:

- Black Adam introduced the Cinematic JSA. Historically an extremely prominent member of the JSA was Mr Terrific. If they somehow connected the Cinematic JSA to the Stargirl TV show versions, you'll also have Jakeem with the Lightning Bolt. And a Hispanic Wildcat.

- With Superman having been out of the picture/dead for at least a few months, John Henry Irons deciding to honour his Hero makes far more sense than digging up nobodies.

- The Green Lantern series is already being reworked into a John Stewart centred series. Job done.

- The Flash has, like the TV show, gone with a Black Woman for the eternally-in-comics white woman Iris West. No problem with that though. She could be any colour from anywhere as a character.

- Blue Beetle seems to be skipping over the guy who wore the mantle for Decades, Ted Kord, and is instead focusing on Jaime Reyes. Might be a mistake to do so considering it means no "Blue & Gold" option but I'm up for giving it a chance.

Soooo, why is an unknown like Icon necessary again? Keeping in mind that the list above is off the top of my head in the last 5 mins, not planned out meticulously by a Studio Head. The ironic thing is you keep bringing up how Icon is "The Black Superman". That literally makes him unnecessary. He was necessary as that in Comics at the time of creation because representation was pretty much nonexistent. But what you're asking for is basically like me sating "Hey let's go ahead with the John Stewart Lantern series, he'll be called John Stewart but let's make him unnecessarily white". I wouldn't watch that. That's not John Stewart. Whatever the opposite of "White Washing" a movie is, is what you're doing.

Last thing too, Zack Snyder doesn't have a son, nor a father, nor an uncle named Zach. It's Zack. Just because Zack is short for Zachary doesn't mean anyone gets to change someone's name. People who prefer being called Mike don't spell it Mich because it's short for Michael. It's Zack pal, if you're going to talk about the guy so much, have enough respect to get his name right.

You disrespected my posts and offered to not even read it but then you expect me to read yours.

I'd love to meet you in Real Life.