i wonder if the lanterns tv show will be like the arrowverse
In that it feels "cheap", at least form what little I have seen...giving me vibes of the first 1/2 of the SYFy Flash Gordon series... i know they hadn't finished the special effects yet, but they should have done SOME kind of "proof concept" like the Matrix producers did to sell their movie for final production.
I might be the one person that actually thought the first 1/2 of Ryan Reynolds Grene Lantern movie wa sgood, and felt appropriately COSMIC , and fit for the character. Right now, i am surely not seeing it.
Second, I don't understand why people insist on using "Snyderverse" as a synonym for the DCEU. Zack Snyder only had significant involvement in at most four of the DCEU's 15 canonical films, perhaps only three (as I gather he contributed little to Wonder Woman despite his story and producer credits).
Your math is off. FUll director for the first 2 films, heavily involved in the 3rd. He set up the actors for 3 films (WW, Aquaman, Flash), and set up the scenario for WW. The relative failure of Batman vs Superman set in motion (along with a coincidental family tragedy) set in motion the self-destruction of that cinematic universe. SO even his absence created ripple effects
It was well received enough to get audiences looking forward to Wonder Woman and Justice League, although the latter crashed and burned thanks to Whedon (along with thick-skulled WB execs) attempting to "MCU-ize" the film--which meant misplaced humor, and rarely a coherent handling of superheroes.
The interference was felt was needed because B v S was perceived at best, as a mixed movie (some things were successful, other things were not), and didn't perform financially as well as it could. But Justice League was already in production at the time, so there was executive panic.
And at the time Whedon made sense. I had a similar feeling with Bryan SInger . He did an awesome job with X_Men, so between that and him being an admitte dfan of Superman, i was very excited about his movie, and was genuinely shocked that it wasn;t that good.
Reaction to comic book movies--by general audiences--are not so compartmentalized as you suggest; the Nolan Bat-films were phenomenal, and the effect opened the door (and potential) to all superhero productions to follow, including the MCU.
To the point of this thread's Gunn-focus, his DCU--unlike the DCEU--has not moved from strength to strength, with a Superman movie incapable of outperforming Man of Steel, and now Supergirl-- the all-important second film has been a spectacular failure across the globe. It would be an understatement to say this is a serious problem, which few of the most vocal Gunn/DCU defenders will ever be willing to admit to themselves.
Agreed; as noted above, the straight build-up from Man of Steel to Dawn of Justice and Wonder Woman finally delivered the first strong attempt at a live action DC universe, and it certainly fueled excitement for a Justice League movie, just not the one incompetently re-shaped by WB and Whedon. As you observe, the Snyder cut of JL did save that film concept, further proving his instincts were correct about building a DC film universe.
The same cannot be said of the Gunn-DCU so far--considering what's happened with the second film just out of the gates.
See below on the comments about at the perception of success/failure of B v S. I also mentioned in the oast that B v S successfully created anticipation (certainly for my theater) for the WW movie, whereas the Supergirl intro in Superman 2025 fell very flat for me.
--which was quite obvious to anyone not going into the theatre setting themselves up to expect yet another regurgitated, infantile version appearing anything like the Donner interpretation.
Quite true.
Selective memory prevents some from admitting that editors and writers changed Superman over the decades, and the often absurd dreck from the Weisinger/Donner/Super Friends versions were not the eternal standard--obviously not, as other writers took their own path with the character.
You kind of have some selective memory yourself. You had ciriticism of the CW Superman. Now, I understand it....with the prime example of the CW SUperman giving the speech that Supergirl was "better" than he was. to me it felt like the speech Superman gave when Supergirl died in the original comic Crisis on Infinite Earths. While that felt heartfelt and sincere for a funeral, I can see how that kind comes off condescending toward Superman in the Sueprgirl TV show.
But i think whatever the differences....is there an "essence" that is there, so people can embrace the new? The CW Flash definitley had that, as it CLEARLY respected the CBS show. And I think the Wonder WOman appeances (such as B v S and her movie), while giving us a CLEARLY distinct version that is DEFINITELY tough, but still has that compassion & even innocence of the WW TV show, so us Gen X'ers weren't upset at the protral, but in fact embraced it
Nope.
BvS started massive, the hype was there and everybody wanted to see these characters together on-screen. On its first weekend it made $166 million domestically, and more than $420 million worldwide. That was massive
However, even on that first weekend, there was a significant Friday-to-Sunday decline of 58%. And then it had a second weekend drop-off of 81%.
This is a good point that
@TREK_GOD_1 misses.... and it's THAT situation that got executives to panic...because Justice League was in the MIDDLE of production when they go these numbers, so i can see them freaking out over that, while seeing Whedon's over billion dollar haul when Man of Steel just came out
This shows that anticipation was there, interest in these characters and them crossing over was there (shocker, it's just the three most iconic superheroes DC has to offer), but audiences did not like what they saw.
rn
Now, comparing it to the two movies of the current DCU, Superman started stronger than anticipated, and it famously had legs. It had good word-of-mouth, and many who saw it went back to see it again. You keep harpening on how it made less than MoS (though that one was also very front-loaded, though not to the degree BvS was), but with the shifting popularity of the genre itself and theater attendence in general, it was the highest grossing superhero movie of 2025.
Now, Supergirl is a massive bomb, but it started with a terrible first weekend. There simply was no interest in the character.
Now, with all that said, I just have to say: stop comparing the Snyder-Verse with the current DCU. James Gunn has to succeed on todays expectations, not those from a previous era. And if James Gunn fails, WB won't bring back Snyder, those versions of the characters, or any of the actors in those roles. They would either bring in another guy to run the DC cinematic universe, or they'll shut down the idea of a shared DC cinematic universe completely, and both Man of Tomorrow and the further box office of the MCU will factor into that.
But the Snyder-Verse is done
It's cool you like it, I like parts of it myself, and there are other people who like it. That's okay.
But it is not coming back, and no kicking and screaming will change that.
I just saw a video which claimed that Marvel looked at the Magure & Garfield SPiderman movies and learned from the strengths and weaknesses of both.... That's what i can see with comparing to previous incarnations, and the DCFU was in the middle of the MCU wave, so it's not like ancient history of the 70's
I do have to say one thing, for all the Aquaman jokes we've heard over the years, I seriously love that his movie was the one that made the most money.
Definitely irony and redemption...but also what i suspect caused David Zaslav to turn Anti-Monitor and wipe out a universe. I am VERY sure he thought to himself "If Aquaman of ALL heroes can earn over $1 billion, why can't SUperman????"
Hmm... Did the general public even see Blade as a superhero? I think those were perceived more as action/horror movies.
I think that is legitimate view...the public may have saw it more as horror/vampire movie. But executives might have noted it was a comic book property, Also, don't forget, Avi Arad was involved with the Blade movies, which then got him involved with SPider Man, and that indeed caused the first full wave to Tsunami.
(although to be fair its not in the Gunnverse).
