Though Warner Brothers and DC were slow to start building their own shared cinematic creation in a fashion similar to Marvel ’s , there was no intellect to believe that they would n’t be able to take out it off successfully in their own time . Looking at the current state of things , though , that ’s becoming increasingly difficult to believe .
On Wednesday even , news brokethat Warner Bros. may have scrapped what was once meant to be a Gotham City Sirens film centered on Harley Quinn and a police squad of Gotham ’s other iconic female villains . in spades reported was that the studio was fast - track a Joker and Harley motion picture write and directed by the squad behind Crazy , Stupid , Love . Ba - dum - tiss .
Earlier this week , another reportmade the rounds explaining that Warner Bros. is moving forrad with a standalone Joker film produce by Martin Scorsese that would focus on the the character ’s early days in Gotham long before that disastrous fortuity that would lead to his becoming Batman ’s patronizing nemesis . The scheme for this film , described by someastaking cue fromDC ’s Elseworlds embossment , would have it put outside of the DCEU ’s continuity . This decision would allow yet another actor to limn the Joker rather than bond with Jared Leto , whom audiences were just introduce to in last twelvemonth ’s widely panned Suicide Squad .
In the months since Wonder Woman proved that Warner Bros. is more than subject of making a DC moving-picture show that ’s both a fiscal and critical winner , there ’s been the worldwide belief ( if not go for ) that the studio could get its act together . But after this workweek ’s news program , it ’s hard not to believe that Warner Bros. simply does n’t bed what it ’s doing and , in absence of a programme , is pick out to flip everything it ’s got at the paries in hope that something joint . This is a apparently bad estimate for grounds that should be obvious , but plainly are n’t to Warner Bros.
Looking from the exterior in , there are at least two major problems that Warner Bros. is set up for itself . The first , an over - trust on the Joker intellectual holding , is rather easy to avoid . The 2nd , begin to build out a likely band of films that subsist outdoors of the sanctioned DCEU , is a little more complicated .
It is n’t heavy to understand why Warner Bros. would require to capitalise on the Joker in a movie when you conceive both how popular the character is to lover and how much of a revenue generator he is . If you were to go to the close big box seat fund near like you a Target or a Wal - Mart , you are almost warrant to come across a compendium of toys , clothing , and other ware explicitly assort with the character . funny books are n’t typically betray in entrepot that are n’t bookshop or comic strip shops , but The Killing Joke , one of DC ’s consistent top - seller , for certain is . As much as we like to think of motion-picture show like Wonder Woman and Batman v Superman solely as pieces of cinematic art inspired by comic we love , it ’s crucial to remember that these projects are all essentially about making money for the company behind them . You see the movie , you like the moving picture , you go out and buy things relate with the film , and all of that translate to gain .
The issue with hang so tightly to the Joker the way that Warner Bros. seems to be doing right now is that the studio is running the very serious jeopardy jade and alienating audiences who ’ve only just now come to accept Leto as the new Joker . Recasting the role would be one thing , but to have two cinematic looping of the character reference running around in the world ’s mind at the same time is hold to lead to much disarray for the great unwashed who do n’t closely follow the specifics of these movies . What ’s more , there ’s an undeniable sting to the musical theme that Sirens , a Harley Quinn - led flick focused on the cleaning lady of Gotham , might be taking a back seat to “ a criminal love tale ” between a char and her scurrilous mate . come off the success of Wonder Woman , this is an incredibly spoiled look for the studio to take .
There is a 2d and much larger problem that Warner Bros. seems to be walking into . The Elseworlds imprint represents everything that makes multiverses a fun concept in comic playscript . Take a bunch of case you know , shuffle em up a bit , and enjoin a different kind of story that readers do n’t ask . In the public of comics , the idea of confused multiverses are very much a thing that characters recognize and explain often enough that you find fault up on the conceitedness fair promptly .
The same is n’t true of most superhero movies right on now . Marvel has its MCU , DC has its DCEU and audiences interpret that there is a set kind of science and system of logic to those particular population . conceive of , then , a casual movie departer who get a line about a Joker prequel , assume that it pack spot before the events of Suicide Squad , and then goes into the theatre only be presented with a earth does n’t quite primed into their reason of what kind of flick DC ’s fashioning .
In pull off to get the jump on other studios , Marvel determine the standard for amusing Good Book share cinematic creation . Seeing how successful that particular vision worked for Marvel , other studios have since hop on the bandwagon in Leslie Townes Hope of being able to likewise capitalise on the inherent buzz that crossovers within shared universes father . Though the portion out universe model may sense restrictive when lay out on paper , it ’s one that DC volitionally chose to take over , but is now apparently attempt to make work in addition to these standalone film .
The weird thing about all of this is that Warner Bros. has slew of experience with an Elseworlds - esque cinematic world with all of its tv set appearance .
Fox ’s Gotham , for representative is n’t at all interrelate to the CW ’s DC shows , and neither internet is at all linked to Syfy ’s upcoming Krypton series . This approach to capitalize on DC ’s vast portfolio of stories is even more straightaway apparent when you consider Warner Bros. ’ animated projects . No one would ever mistake Batman : The Animated Series and DC Superhero Girls as live in the same macrocosm because Warner Bros. animation offshoot made the witting decision that its offerings would be distinct properties from the very beginning .
There have been shows like Batman : TAS that went on to share substantial amount of money of narrative DNA with other shows like Justice League , but again the difference here was that the studio apartment took the time to “ learn ” audiences how to devour the stories that they were telling and understand that they were sovereign from one another . For example , The Batman , Beware The Batman , Batman Unlimited , and Justice League Action are all display that prominently sport Batman , but the each differentiate itself in terms of tone and ocular aesthetic to carry that they ’re their own affair . The sweetheart of these animated show and movies is that they be a significantly low-pitched amount of money to make and if one halt being profitable , Warner Bros. can load down it up and start all over again . That is n’t quite the subject with a multimillion dollar bill springy natural process movie .
https://gizmodo.com/all-28-dc-animated-original-movies-ranked-1796824457
Though it has a roadmap for the future , DC ’s protracted Universe is barely off the ground at this compass point and introducing another hardening of technically unrelated lively - action movies that will compete with the DCEU feel like a odd bifurcation of Warner Bros. ’ brand .
None of this even deals with the fact that most of the DCEU ’s movies just are n’t that respectable . You ’d opine that Warner Bros. would be sharpen on strain to recreate what it was about Wonder Woman that made audience have it away it so much to verify that its next movies are successful , but that seems not to be the case .
This should n’t at all come as a surprise to anyone but as both a critic and a lover of comic books , I very truly want to see Warner Bros. and DC out there kick all form of piece of tail and giving Marvel a run for their money . The stronger these movies are singly , the good the genre becomes as a whole . But justly now , Warner Bros. seems hellbent on shooting itself in the foot and hurting all of us in the process .
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