I am surprised that no one has been comparing the DCFU to Sony. Zaslav feels so much like what SOny did with Spiderman -- they were so muchinto the profit , that they cared little about the impact it would have on the next version/future of the property.
Tom Hardy Spiderman came at a time where TObey SPiderman would have been finished anyway. So i think that was one of the reasons why it was so accepted (vs. ASM, which was rejected y the 2nd movie...i only went to see it because i was chaperone to my daughter's class seeing it at the end of th school year). And Marvel Studios bringing back Andrew Garfield in such a way that it just fed more into the positivity rather than being burned by a studio'srejection.
I think we make too binary a distinction between "fans" and "general audience". The General audience is like the political middle -- it's not just one wish washy group -- it is really a blend of various groups not fully connnected to a passionate fan base.
The impact of a connected universe is that there would be at least SOME group of people who would follow each new release. And THOSE people could pursuade others to come see a new movie with them, which helped the momentum for success. Some people might have a level of passion to follow a property if they felt it was good. Others maybe just to see something cool. But if combined, there could be a momentum for people to want to see it in groups, or again and again. BLack Panther is a great example of both Marvel connected culture, as well as the African American community focused on wanting that movie to succeed.
Christopher made the arument that in the 1940's, people didn't follow continuity. That shows not a historical knowledge but a clear disconnect with modern reality. 1940's film continuity was easily forgotten because people only had one shot to see the movies. There was not a TV airing 3 -4 years later, no VHS release, no streaming, no owning copies that you could rewatch. And there sure wasn't an instantaneous social media where people could discuss properties ACROSS THE WORLD, and no Google to pop up articles discussing continuity.
What made the Flash TV show work early on is that clearly honored what came before, and made old fans totally fine with changes that were made, while at the same time drawing in a whole new generation of fans (for example, m girls love Cisco Ramon, though he is totally different that the Cisco i saw introduced in the Justice league comics at the time). While the conection to FLash - 90 came much later, there was a healthy sense of transition. CW Flashcame at a time where the old Flash TV series would have been long finished, and was ready for a next generation. And they did a handover that "felt good".
i don't see that vibe at all. And in fact, it is more like burning bridges to the future. I don't know why any good talent would want to sign with WB, knowing that their good/hard work could be dumped when it is deemed a failure.
Starting with the makers of Batgirl... they will now go ALL IN at Marvel , and hype Ms Marvel and the Marvel brand more, and probably find some digs at WB.
Wonder Woman 3 being rejected now seems waaaaay less than the failure of WW2 & Jenkins and more due to a ridiculous cleaning of the slate , since now Henry Cavill has been rejected.
Speaking of Henry -- is there anyone on this board who actually hates him as an actor (and being cast as Superman). The problem i have had is more that A), his origin got derailed in the middle of the movie, and b) using him 3 times in 2 movies as an antogonist to Batman.He was well cast as Superman...just poorly written/directed. And add me to the list of thinking Amy Adams was an ecellent Lois, and a loss to us of her in the future.
I think Gunn has been legitmately diplomatic when meeting with the previous DCFU stars, but it is still crappy, and honestly, i think unnecesary. It was really just small things that started off wrong, that could have been adjusted
And I still have a super hard time believing that Gunn & Safran have developed this well thought out plan in just a couple of months, especially with Gunn still working on Guardians..and did he also do any work on Peacemaker season 2?
Speaking of Peacemaker... i also have a hard time thinking that Gunn would immediately dump his OWN creative production in favor of the new universe, unless Zaslav is paying him so much money it is worth it to stop. The only other thing would be to end Peacemaker on a note where he is responsible for the destruction of the current DCFU. THAT might be something Gunn could agree too (especialy after reading how he wanted to end the Guardians trilogy on an emtional bang)
Yes, there will be numbers of people who will want to see Batman and Superman. And Zaslav IS right, that those numbers OUGHT to be high, and in fact on Marvel level, on a consistent basis. But the management not just past but present is NOT helping the property achieve this. In fact, i feel like it is sabotaging future success.... so that the 10 year plan might turn out to be a 10 year failure. I don't see Zaslav any more committed to it than the previous regime was committed to the DCFU (i.e. how they seemed to change direction with every criticism/failure)
