DC TV & Cinematic Universes

[Vanyel]

Now I know DC's TV and Cinematic Universes are currently separate Universes. A Multiverse. With Arrow and The Flash being successes, and should either Supergirl or Titans or both be successes too, does anyone else besides me think DC could really leap frog ahead of Marvel and combine the two Universes with a Crisis On Infinite Earths like movie(s)? Combine the two Universes maybe even add Nolan's Batman Trilogy into the mix.

I think it could work. It would mean firing one of the Flashes or giving one a dramic death like the one on CoIE.

Thoughts?

I don't know if this has been discussed before but a search brought up a lot of multi-page threads that seemingly didn't start out asking this question.

 

[Christopher]

There's no way the TV and movie universes would be combined. They're from different divisions of Warner Bros. with their own agendas. Heck, even over at Marvel Studios where everything's nominally in one reality, I get the sense that the movie folks only tolerate the TV stuff and don't really pay much attention to it, just leaving it up to the TV folks to follow their lead.

It's possible we could get a multiverse-style crossover between the CW shows and Supergirl, say, but merging universes is unlikely, for the same corporate and logistical reasons why they're separate continuities to begin with.

 

[DigificWriter]

I agree with Christopher's assertion that the DCTVU and DCCU will never be combined. Not only doesn't it make sense to suddenly decide to combine them after having designed them to exist and operate separately, but there's really no compelling story reasons for combining them.

Warner Bros. and DC are taking a Multiverse approach to their filmic and television properties, and there's really no reason for them to change their plan of attack.

 

[Guy Gardener]

The tv and other tv and movie universe can cross over in a third media.

Radio or comic books?

 

[Gaith]

I could picture an epically silly one-off episode of The Flash where Barry zooms into the Smallville reality and hangs out with its Green Arrow (too bad that show, for all its comics nods, never had a Felicity, though if they could get Allison Mack on also, the jokes would just write themselves).


... But yeah, anything more than that just ain't happening, per Christopher's explanation. Which is no bad thing, as the DCCU is enough of a clusterfruitcake as is.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Keep them separate. The films and TVs shows are so different to begin with. But IF AoS has shown anything it's that being tethered so strictly to the films limits what it can do--I think it's really stunted the show's potential.

On the other hand, I'm a staunch supporter of united DCTV. Though that's even less likely, especially without WB playing the Godhand.

 

[Karzak]

Whedon has as much as said that he basically ignored Agents of SHIELD while writing Age of Ultron. It's also a fact that for most of Agents of SHIELD's run, the movies were already well ahead of production than the show, so being inclusive wasn't really possible. Now that it is, the show is effectively a 22 hour ad for the Marvel movies.

 

[Christopher]

It's also a fact that for most of Agents of SHIELD's run, the movies were already well ahead of production than the show, so being inclusive wasn't really possible. Now that it is, the show is effectively a 22 hour ad for the Marvel movies.

No, the movie production is still way ahead of the TV production. That's never going to change; it takes a year or two to make a big-budget feature film, whereas a TV episode takes about three months from proposal to broadcast. It's that long lead time for the movies that allows the show to tie into them, to plan its story arcs in a way that incorporates setup for the movies. (The AoS producers knew about HYDRA from the start of the first season, which is why they were able to develop a story arc that built up to the HYDRA reveal.) But it can't go the other way, because the movies are already done filming long before the "contemporary" TV episodes get written.

 

[Karzak]

You misunderstood what I wrote. Clearly the show is being produced at the same time as the Marvel films are being written and filmed. I'm well aware of how long it takes to produce each, but my point was that (for example) Agents of SHIELD's next season is being written now, the same way Civil War is being written and produced now.

I agree - the movies are way ahead of the show, but that doesn't mean they aren't being worked on contemporaneously. That wasn't the case initially though, and the show has since "caught up" with the production of the films.

The overall point too was simply that the movies exist independently of what the show does, but likewise the show has to service the movies.

 

[Kelthaz]

does anyone else besides me think DC could really leap frog ahead of Marvel and combine the two Universes with a Crisis On Infinite Earths like movie(s)?

The name of game isn't to make the biggest and most convoluted shared universe. It's to tell interesting stories that get butts in seats.

 

[Vanyel]

does anyone else besides me think DC could really leap frog ahead of Marvel and combine the two Universes with a Crisis On Infinite Earths like movie(s)?

The name of game isn't to make the biggest and most convoluted shared universe. It's to tell interesting stories that get butts in seats.

Tying the two universes together can get butts in seats. With TV stars, reprising their roles on the big screen and the movie stars reprising on the TV series. Supergirl, if indeed she is the one from the open pod in Man Of Steele, has been on Earth longer and may have greater control of her powers than Kal-El. Or if they do follow her story and have her come later he can be showing Kara the ropes. Cyborg crossing into Titans, Nightwing into Batman movies, and all the TV shows and movies dropping little hints about whats next with DCTV having arcs either primary or secondary arcs leading to the movies. It would just be a matter of connecting them. Maybe the Crisis could do that, connect them.

 

[JoeZhang]

does anyone else besides me think DC could really leap frog ahead of Marvel and combine the two Universes with a Crisis On Infinite Earths like movie(s)?

The name of game isn't to make the biggest and most convoluted shared universe. It's to tell interesting stories that get butts in seats.

Tying the two universes together can get butts in seats. With TV stars, reprising their roles on the big screen and the movie stars reprising on the TV series. Supergirl, if indeed she is the one from the open pod in Man Of Steele, has been on Earth longer and may have greater control of her powers than Kal-El. Or if they do follow her story and have her come later he can be showing Kara the ropes. Cyborg crossing into Titans, Nightwing into Batman movies, and all the TV shows and movies dropping little hints about whats next with DCTV having arcs either primary or secondary arcs leading to the movies. It would just be a matter of connecting them. Maybe the Crisis could do that, connect them.

Leaving aside the fact that butts on seats is nothing that concerns me - while the MCU factory production line of yes-men has been great for them - it would be an absolutely tragedy if everything was reduced to decision by committee. Although, yes there are going to be constraints - I'm going to see Superman vs Batman because it represents a director's vision for those characters. Similarly I'm enjoying the Flash because (again within reason)it represents the vision of those creators for those characters.

(as for Supergirl, it's incommensurable with Man of Steel for various reasons).

 

[Christopher]

Tying the two universes together can get butts in seats. With TV stars, reprising their roles on the big screen and the movie stars reprising on the TV series.

Sure, in theory, a lot of fans of Arrow and The Flash would love to see those heroes on the big screen. (Although the first season of The Flash was basically an expansion of Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim's unmade Flash film script from a few years ago.) But the people actually making the movies wouldn't love that. Like I said, they're a different division of Warner Bros. and they have their own goals and ideas. They want to build their own version of the DCU, not borrow what the TV division has created.

Supergirl, if indeed she is the one from the open pod in Man Of Steele

She is not. She really, really is not.

, has been on Earth longer and may have greater control of her powers than Kal-El.

Nope. In the show, Kara was stuck in the Phantom Zone for 24 years and came out as a preteen when Superman was already an adult.

 

[davejames]

I admit I do think it would be kinda cool if at some point Supergirl or Flash encountered a bunch of alternate universe versions of themselves. And yes maybe in the process we could even get a quick cameo from Cavill or Gadot or someone else from the movie universe as well.

But a cameo is about as far as I would take the idea. I would never want it to be some epic, Crisis-style event with giant battles between teams of characters or anything. Because frankly that's never interested me even when it's been done in the comics.

 

[JD]

does anyone else besides me think DC could really leap frog ahead of Marvel and combine the two Universes with a Crisis On Infinite Earths like movie(s)?

The name of game isn't to make the biggest and most convoluted shared universe. It's to tell interesting stories that get butts in seats.

Tying the two universes together can get butts in seats. With TV stars, reprising their roles on the big screen and the movie stars reprising on the TV series. Supergirl, if indeed she is the one from the open pod in Man Of Steele, has been on Earth longer and may have greater control of her powers than Kal-El. Or if they do follow her story and have her come later he can be showing Kara the ropes. Cyborg crossing into Titans, Nightwing into Batman movies, and all the TV shows and movies dropping little hints about whats next with DCTV having arcs either primary or secondary arcs leading to the movies. It would just be a matter of connecting them. Maybe the Crisis could do that, connect them.

At this point the shows and movies have taken such different approaches to things, I would rather just see them left separate. I wouldn't mind if the Berlant and non-Berlanti shows crossed over, but they would have to treat them as alternate universes.

 

[Guy Gardener]

In the unaired TV show, she arrived on Earth as a 13 year old, to be greeted by a fully actualized 24 year old Superman. Kara's adult adventures in the pilot starts 12 years later. Which means that, she is 25 and Kal-El is 36.

 

[Vanyel]

In the unaired TV show, she arrived on Earth as a 13 year old, to be greeted by a fully actualized 24 year old Superman. Kara's adult adventures in the pilot starts 12 years later. Which means that, she is 25 and Kal-El is 36.

Are you referring to the Supergirl that is to aired next season?

 

[DigificWriter]

^ Yes.

She's 12 when she gets to Earth, though (as per the official synopsis), not 13 (I'm not actually sure where the idea that she's 13 is coming from).

 

[Guy Gardener]

She's 13.

I know my shit.

Do you know your shit?

Transcript.

 

[DigificWriter]

^ There's a difference between the synopsis and the actual content of the Pilot, then.