Crafting a shared DC "filmic" universe

I believe there's been talk of DC Comics/Warner Bros. creating a shared universe for its upcoming/future film projects, and, IMO, they are in an optimum position to do so now, with Christopher Nolan signed on to 'grandfather'/oversee the development of the new Superman movie and with Greg Berlanti and the other two writers who created the first few drafts of the Green Lantern script having been tapped to work on a script treatment for The Flash. Nolan has said that he is not going to try and deliberately tie things together, at least not vis a vis the Superman movie and the Batman universe he's created through Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, but I see nothing inhibiting DC/Warner Bros. from incorporating references to Green Lantern into The Man of Steel and/or The Flash, thus establishing that, although the films themselves aren't connected, they do take place in the same universe, and thereby lay the groundwork to bring all 3 heroes - as well as others - together at some point in the future for a Justice League movie.

Thoughts? Am I off-base on thinking that DC/Warner Bros. has created a 'perfect storm' situation for creating a shared filmic universe?

Related questions:

1) What would you do/want to see happen to take advantage of the behind-the-scenes connections that have been brewing in order to establish/create a shared universe for DC's upcoming film projects?

2) Based solely on rumors concerning future DC comics film projects, and casting aside the character of Batman for the time being, who, besides Green Lantern, Superman, and The Flash, would you like to see inhabit a hypothetical DC shared filmic universe and take part in a hypothetical future Justice League film?

 

I'm not sure Nolan's Batman-verse lends itself to a combined DC film series: part of it's success has been audiences perceiving it as rooted in noir rather than the metahuman genre. I'd love to be wring about that, but it's a line DC has had trouble with in the past: how can Batman keep up with Apokolips? Morrison says he's got the ol' super-strategy, while the core non-Morrison Bat-titles bring him back to Gotham's streets. So, first thing might be to either assume Nolan's Bat-verse is a separate entity despite his being tapped to oversee Superman; or find ways to incorporate.

your second question is easier to answer: Wonder Woman has to be there, no question. I'd like to see Black Canary, less enthusiastic about Green Arrow. Firestorm would look pretty cool on screen. I think marketing could do worse than bringing Fire and Ice into the mix (think of the calendars even as you had a 50/50 on-screen gender split for the JLA).

 

Hey, Derishton. Several points:

1) You kind of misread what I said regarding the Nolan Bat-verse and DC having a chance to create a shared universe; like I pointed out, Nolan has flat-out said that he does not view his version of the Batman universe as being compatible with any type of shared filmic universe, at least vis a vis Superman, which is why I made it clear that Batman shouldn't be in the conversation vis a vis what DC characters might work/ought to be included in a hypothetical shared DC filmic universe.

2) Regarding GA, I would like to see the character utilized in a shared DC filmic universe, but the information that we have concerning the still-in-development GA film (Escape from SuperMax) really doesn't make me believe that there's even a remote possibility of incorporating the character into any type of shared filmic universe.

3) Answering my second 'related question', though, two characters that I think could most definitely be incorporated into any sort of DC filmic universe are Wonder Woman and Aquaman; we know that film projects for all 3 characters are or were being planned, and, especially in the case of WW, I think the establishment of a shared DC filmic universe would be a great asset in getting those projects off the ground and finished, since DC/Warner Bros. could offer the prospect of a future JLA film as sort of an incentive for the people involved in developing solo film projects for both characters.

4) Regarding Black Canary, I like the character, but don't really think she carries enough 'weight' in terms of name recognition to be featured in a solo film but would be a great 'ensemble' piece for a future JLA film; the same goes for Hawkman, even though DC/WB announced last December that they were trying to develop a solo film featuring the character (Hawkman).

 

I think I was agreeing with you on Nolan and why he's right not to tie them together. Overall, I think any JLA/shared universe should be looking at lesser-known characters, which is partially why it's hard to respond here.

I don't think that Green Arrow movie is ever going to happen, as you say.

 

Re: the GA film, it seemed to be rather far along in development, although it does look like it's fallen back into development hell, so maybe the existence of a shared DC filmic universe could be used as incentive/motivation for someone to revive the project and take things in a much different direction, one that would allow for GA to be included as part of a hypothetical shared universe and hypothetical future JLA film.

One DC character that I think would fit extremely well as part of a shared filmic universe, but who doesn't have any film projects currently being developed for them, is the Martian Manhunter. It would be quite cool to see the Manhunter get a film of his own (if DC wants to give Hawkman his own film, then there's really no reason why they couldn't do the same for the Manhunter) and then be included in a future JLA film.

 

I'd love to see a Martian Manhunter film on the model of the new Captain America - a 19502 noir piece making good use of the John Jones detective identity, but released before a JLA film. Establishing him as the first hero.

 

I would love to see a shared DCFU but it would be kind of hard to pull off without having Batman or Wonder Woman in it. There has been reported statements on the internet from people like Geoff Johns who have stated that their ultimate goal is to have a Justice League film much like the Avengers movie show casing their big seven characters. The trouble with DC Ent is that unlike Marvel Sudios they've bungled their characters film counterparts. I think once Nolan is done with Batman and a new director is given the reigns we could see Batman in a JL film. We've still not got "Flash" and "Wonder Woman" movies either despite them being long in development hell.

 

It's just kind of funny that Warner Bros. has complete control over the film rights of the entire DC Universe (to the best of my knowledge), and yet Marvel is absolutely smoking them in terms of getting their properties out there and onto the silver screen.

 

I would like to see a JL film 1st then do like a new reboot of all the main characters with the actors from the JL film. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter & Aquaman...lesser know characters can be involved aswell...this is wishful thinking but...

 

It's true. But you will never see members of the Fantastic Four meet Spider-Man, who will never meet any of The Avengers, who will never encounter any of The X-Men. Otherwise, Marvel Studios does have an exciting film slate ahead.

 

Yep there's no denying that Marvel Studios has done a great job with the characters they have under their stable which is essentially the Avengers family of books. Fox has X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Daredevil. Sony has Spidey. I'd like Marvel to attempt to get FF and Daredevil at least. They also seem to have plans for a filmed Marvel Cosmic universe as well.

With regards to the DCFU...now that they have restructured their film division and have people that have been involved in the comics like Geoff Johns and Jim Lee guiding their entertainment division I think we'll start seeing more entertaining movies that use the source material to craft their stories...i.e. the Nolan Batman films and the upcoming "Green Lantern". "Flash" seems to be on track now with Berlani's involvement. "Wonder Woman" will be interesting to see what gets done with that as it's among Geoff John's "to do" lists he mentioned a few weeks back. "Green Arrow" projects have been proposed and stuck in development hell. I would love to see a Year One type GA film done with the maturity the Nolan Batman films. I've not even touched on "Superman" yet but think that is in good hands with Jonah writing the script with David Goyer and rumored to direct the film. All of this should lead to a JLA film at some point in the next five or seven years.

 

I know. It sucks.

 

The other key person in the DC/Warner Bros. reorganization is Diane Nelson. The following article describes what she and Geoff Johns are planning:

DC Comics Starts a New Film Era With Green Lantern

It's worth a read. Would've been nice if Nelson and Johns made an important announcement at Comic-Con about the stalled Superman franchise.

 

Yes!!! I'd forgotten Diane's name which is why I didn't mention her in my post lol.

 

To be honest I have been more enthusiastic about the animated films and I stopped really caring about the live action stuff, because besides Nolan's work and the first two Superman films, it has been sub-par to say the least.

That said I do want to see a live action Justice League movie, and if creating a shared universe will help that become a reality, I am all for it.

 

It would be a monumental mistake and a slap in the face to Nolan and his relationship with Warner Bros. were Batman to be involved - at least in the immediate future - in any sort of shared filmic DC universe. The inclusion of Batman in the cancelled previously-planned Justice League movie was an extremely bad idea at the time, and introducing a new version of Batman ostensibly on the heels of the completion of Nolan's Batman trilogy is an equally bad idea, and is not something that I think Geoff Johns and the others who are now in charge of the WB/DC film division would even contemplate doing.

BTW, Admiral Young, you mentioned that The Flash movie is stuck in development hell, but although it might've been previously, it isn't anymore, because Greg Berlanti mentioned in an interview conducted at this past weekend's Comic-Con that he and his Green Lantern co-writers have been tapped to work on a script treatment for the property (The Flash).

 

Indeed I should have stated "The Flash" was previously stalemated in my post...I do recall reading the Berlanti stuff in one of the panel coverages. I agree with regards about Batman which is why I stated I can't see a Big Seven Justice League movie done until after Nolan's trilogy is complete or he gives his blessing to use his version of Bruce Wayne in such a movie which most likely won't happen.

 

It's not just a matter of waiting till Nolan finishes his Batman trilogy; it's a matter of waiting until enough time has passed AFTER he's finished said trilogy where creating a new version of the Batman mythology doesn't feel like a slap in the face to him.

With all of that said, though, it is likely to take another year before we see the Nolan-produced Man of Steel film shot and released, so maybe by the time DC/WB is ready to start thinking about a JLA film, they won't actually have to worry about disrespecting Nolan because enough time will have indeed passed for them to reboot the Batman franchise a second time and create a version of the character that can fit into a shared filmic universe with the likes of Superman, etc.

 

I know that Nolan has said that his version of Batman dosen't fit with Superman, but I disagree. If one really wanted to you could fit Superman in that universe and make it seem realistic. I could see Batman showing up in Metropolis to deal with a gang or something and also rumors of a "Super-Man" I could see Batman bieng suspicious of him since he's an alien. They eventually meet and since he's Batman, he did his homework and knows his true Identity already. I definately could see Wayne enterprises or Wayne Tech bieng mentioned in the new Superman.

 

Speaking as a non-comics fan... I'm totally psyched to see the Marvel Cinematic Universe come together. But while I'm definitely interested in seeing Green Lantern and another Supes movie, I don't really care if the DC characters create a shared universe. If they do and it works, fine, but if they didn't try I wouldn't mind.

Maybe it's the fact that, AFAIK, none of the DC heroes apart from Bats and Supes have as much personality as the Marvel heroes. Maybe I'm too interested in the Marvel crossovers to care about DC's. And the fictional cities thing probably plays a big part.

I grinned when Superman Returns mentioned Gotham, and I find Bat's B&R line "this is why Superman works alone" very funny. They can keep the continuity references there for all I care.