The state and future of the DCEU!

Is the DC Extended Universe doomed? no, it's actually just beginning! and heres a run down of whats happened so far and whats to come. Enjoy! Oh and there are spoilers for Man of Steel, Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad but you've probably seen them all by now and if you haven't, this probably isn't your type of blog!

The DC extended universe kicked off in 2013 with 'Man of Steel', a Superman movie starring Henry Cavill as Clark Kent, Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Diane Lane as Martha Kent. This was warner bros. first attempt at a superhero movie/universe since the massively successful Dark Knight trilogy. It was diversely received by fans and critics alike but none the less can be considered a success with it having enough 'power' to spark a shared universe of movies including wider DC characters. The movie reinvented Superman's origin and portrayal with the hopes of introducing a Superman of current time who's alien background was emphasised and his godlike powers were displayed like never before. Also a superman who knows how to wear his underwear properly. 'Wayne Enterprises' And 'Lexcorp' easter eggs can be seen throughout the movie.

The studio then announced and eventually released Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016

which was arguably the most divisive movie in comic book history. You pretty much either hate it or love it. It introduced a new Batman, played by Ben Affleck, to this shared universe which despite HUGE initial backlash, Affleck's portrayal of the caped crusader was generally considered one of the highlights of the movie. Along with Batman, the movie introduced a character who has had to wait a very long time for big screen action; Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). Similar to Affleck, Gadot's casting was met with backlash but in the same way, her appearance was met with an overall positive response. This led to an announcement of a Solo Wonder Woman due to release 2017. The movies ending ultimately sets the beginning of a full DCEU with a changed Bruce and Diana off the back of Clarks sacrifice. Batman V Superman also easter egged The Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman all of which are Justice League members. Something we will talk about later on.

Regardless of the critical responses to Man of Steel and Batman V Superman, Warner Bros. and DC had enough of a fan base/potential fan base and money to make 'Suicide Squad', a movie which tells the story of a joining together of some of the most deadly villains in the DC universe. Amander Waller a corrupt government official leverages a 'kill switch' in the villains heads over them in order to get the squad to be obedient and complete a mission. Once again, critically, it fell. It is currently the lowest rated DCEU movie on rotten Tomatoes. But we're not here to judge or review, we are here to talk about what is next! Suicide Squad introduced a bunch of popular villains along with some less popular villains such as The Joker, Harley Quinn and Deadshot. These three characters are known for causing big trouble in Gotham, often being dealt with by Batman himself. This allows for an easy set up of future solo Batman movies where they could potentially just drop in villain(s) that audiences are now familiar with. Captain Boomerang is one of the 'rogues', a group of villains famous for opposing the Flash who we saw make an appearance early on, capturing boomerang. There is rumours about a solo Flash movie focusing on some rogues as villains. If this is true, boomerang can now appear with no back story needed.

'Wonder Woman' was the next movie in the DCEU. Geoff Johns, the new chief creative officer at DC

was involved in this movie unlike those that came before in the universe. They wanted it to be a success with both the fans and critics. Sure enough, it was! With it's high level of praise it has raised excitement for the character especially with the movie being about 75 years over due! Throughout the coming of age story of the naive humanised god, audiences get behind the heroine and are able to understand some of her actions, emotions and motives displayed in her Batman V Superman appearance. It provides back story and support to an otherwise underdeveloped character. With the hype, success, earnings and social media presence this movie has achieved, it is not too much of a stretch to think a sequel is already being developed. Along with excitement for future solo movies, Wonder Woman should also excite fans for her upcoming appearance in the DCEU's next movie Justice League.

The DCEU seems to be playing out an unusual structure to their universe. What I mean by this is that the heroes and villains already exist and movies such as Batman V Superman and suicide squad are meant to show characters, cities and stories that make audiences want to learn more about them. This is evidenced by Wonder Woman's BvS appearance later leading to a solo origin movie, Batman villains being introduced in Suicide Squad ready for use in Batman movies and The Flash being glimpsed at in BvS and Suicide Squad. In other words, they show us something and it will pay off in a future movie. It seems a lot of these pay offs may come in the Justice League movie set to release later this year.

Batman V Superman ended with a Superman who sacrificed himself and a Batman and Wonder Woman who seemingly had restored faith in humanity after Clark's heroics. Bruce Wayne, now slightly more optimistic, has a feeling that something is coming and he alone can't stop it. Wonder Woman, being reminded by Superman's sacrifice and the memories of World War 1 brought back to her by Bruce is also ready to join and stop what is coming. The two decide to set up a team to prevent this great danger consisting of themselves, The Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman. All of which Lex Luthor was keeping tabs on through BvS.
During BvS, Bruce has a vision or 'nightmare' about being defeated in an apocalyptic world. He is spoken to by a man appearing out of a portal warning him about a potential future. This is part of the reason Bruce believes something evil is coming. The man from the portal was none other than The Flash. Due to the Flash's well documented ability to time travel, it isn't hard to believe what bruce saw was a real warning from the future. Sounds like another thing that could pay off in a future movie and provide more clarity to BvS. Aquaman is seen underwater with the sole purpose of audiences saying "ooh who's that?". He will be introduced in Justice League similar to how Wonder Woman was in BvS. The introduction should peak interest in the character which is to be followed by a solo movie scheduled for a 2018. The same will likely occur with The Flash. More decisions that should pay off later on in future movies.

The state of the DCEU is hopeful. Wonder Woman was a success, peaking excitement for the character and the universe. Justice League will see the return of familiar characters from BvS who audiences now know, as well as a few others hoping to catch interest for movies following the Justice League. So far, Justice League is set for a November 2017 release, Aquaman is set for a 2018 release and is being directed by James Wan. The movie stars Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Patrick Wilson (Ocean Master), Amber Heard (Mera) and Nicole Kidman (Queen Atlanna). The DCEU also has movies apparently planned for 'The Green Lantern Corps', Batgirl, Man Of Steel 2, The Batman, The Flash, Nightwing and more. I will hopefully post more about them as they get nearer and are confirmed.


So get excited! The full DCEU is on it's way with more unique stories and beloved characters! there will be choices in future movies that will pay off in movies between and after. The benefit of this is as the universe progresses older movies will develop more layers and future movies will be adventurous in what they choose to do. By the end of it, it will all make sense. We should end the post here because I could talk about the DCEU forever! The next two movies are Justice League and Aquaman which I will write about after Justice League is released on 17th November 2017.

That's the end of this weeks post! I hope I managed to get someone or some people more excited about the DCEU and clear up any confusion there was! If you have something you want to ask or an opinion you want heard, comment below or tweet me @The_BlogOfSteel. Next week I will be doing the exact same as I did this week but for the MCU! So make sure you come back for that it should be fun. See you next week!