DC Movies - To Infinity and Beyond

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by dahj, Aug 5, 2018.

  1. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Which is exactly why I liked it that the DCEU from Aquaman onward has barely been connected at all, with each film free to be its own entity with its own tone and approach, just sharing the general background. Its strength was that it wasn't just a copy of the MCU's approach, but an alternative to it, a looser, more anthology-like take on the shared-universe idea. And that's why I'm sad that the new approach is to scuttle that in favor of Yet Another MCU Copy, a strategy that has failed miserably for almost every studio that's tried it, including the early DCEU.


    The former, yes. The full expression is "to give free rein," to grant the horse more freedom of movement. Nobody gives someone reign; you're either born with it or you take it for yourself.
     
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  2. Dee1891

    Dee1891 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I haven't been that impressed with the franchise's movies post-"Aquaman", aside from the Snyderverse "Justice League". The only DCEU movie I didn't like between 2013 and 2018 was Whedon's theatrical version of "Justice League". I did like "Birds of Prey" a lot, but I had an issue with it regarding the Joker's missing presence or news about what happened to him before the film.
     
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  3. Set Harth

    Set Harth Vice Admiral Admiral

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    With the exception of Marvel itself! Mainly because they didn't panic, choke and tear it all down every few years.
     
  4. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Snyder, et al., certainly had a clear vision of their then-growing film universe, and Affleck was very interested in building on that. Its such a shame that is not going to happen. Regarding Gunn, Affleck is wise to turn down directing any film in a series that is believed to be so controlling over the vision / authority of the director--its both an anti-creative handcuff and potentially draining the enthusiasm out of anyone working on the film.

    In Affleck's case involving directing a Batman film, I'd say it was the former; originally, he was going to direct the film during the Snyder series era, and he would be able to approach the film his way, but there would be some connections to the rest of the DCEU (like the majority of the films in the series).
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2023
  5. Kai "the spy"

    Kai "the spy" Admiral Admiral

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    Has anybody considered that Affleck's comment could maybe not mean not having free reign, and just possibly be about Gunn & Safran wanting to do a more upbeat Batman movie as to differentiate it from the Matt Reeves films? Just a thought.

    ...

    What, that he broke up with Harley Quinn?
     
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  6. Supervisor 194

    Supervisor 194 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Snyder certainly had a clear vision, but the general audience did not respond to it as enthusiastically as to warrant its continuance---at least by Warner's standards.

    It remains to be seen whether the audience will respond to Gunn's vision.

    Affleck's comments are interesting, and suggest that Gunn's vision will be enforced across all the DC movies. From a director's point of view, I can see how that might feel stifling.
     
  7. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Early numbers suggest it's a disaster.
     
  8. Grendelsbayne

    Grendelsbayne Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Hell, it could be nothing more than him having zero interest in being part of any shared universe project anymore, period. He clearly had a terrible time on JL, and not an extraordinarily great time even before that. Why should he want to go back into another multi-film contract just on the hope that it will be different this time?
     
  9. YLu

    YLu Captain Captain

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    That’s what he pretty much says, isn’t it?

    Doesn’t sound like it’s anything to do with Gunn and Safran specifically.
     
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  10. Rich Watson

    Rich Watson Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Coming in even less than the already low projections. At least Peyton Reed will have a good weekend.
     
  11. Dee1891

    Dee1891 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Some of the general audience, not all of them. And honestly, I tend to judge movies based upon my own views, not the views of movie critics or the majority opinion.


    I think Peyton Reed will continue thinking about his own situation with "Ant-Man 3".
     
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  12. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Indeed. The opinion of the majority will not change mine.
     
  13. Supervisor 194

    Supervisor 194 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    The opinion of the majority shouldn't change yours, as an individual. I thought Superman Returns had a lot of potential and would have loved to seen that universe developed more. Unfortunately, not enough audience members agreed and that was that.

    For the company footing the bill and expecting a return on their investment, that's a different story. And no matter what artistic merits could be argued for the Snyderverse, it did not deliver the general audience and that's why it has been junked.

    I like what Gunn has been saying so far, especially in regards to Superman: Legacy, and will give it a shot when it comes out. Hopefully it will click for a wide audience and develop into a great saga for the Man of Steel.
     
    Last edited: Mar 18, 2023
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  14. thribs

    thribs Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It’s a shame the SmyderVerse ended where it did. I wantedto see Darkseid beat the living #### out of the JL.
    Maybe we’ll get a novel one day.
     
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  15. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    This new direction specifically demands that EVERYTHING be under one roof.

    If you're movie batman for example then you're also the voice of the animated version and all other media that follows.
     
  16. Dee1891

    Dee1891 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    True. But I feel that the franchise's writing has been in serious decline since 2016. But the media and so many fans continue to celebrate the franchise's past glories and congratulate it for more or less sticking to the "MCU formula", something I have grown to loathe.
     
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  17. thribs

    thribs Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Anyone watch the Legion of Superheroes animated movie? It was pretty good but the twist was fairly obvious. Nice cliff-hanger at the end.
     
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  18. Dee1891

    Dee1891 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Where was he? Why did he leave Gotham, which led to Roman Sionis aka Black Mask making an attempt to take over Gotham's crime scene? At first, I thought the Joker was dead. But he wasn't. Why did he leave Gotham after dumping Harley?
     
  19. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    OK, that's what I thought, I just wanted to make sure.
    I understood that, I meant the origins of the phrase itself. I've seen people use both versions of the phrase, and I wasn't sure where the phrase came from. And @Christopher answered that for me.
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    It isn't on HBO Max yet, so no. I wonder when it'll show up there.

    I watched the previous movies in the current, loose "Tomorrowverse" continuity recently. Superman: Man of Tomorrow was the best by a wide margin, which is bad considering that it was the first. Justice Society: World War Two wasn't bad. Batman: The Long Halloween was faithful to a story I didn't like in the comics, and I wish they'd done an original take on Batman as interesting as their take on Superman. The Green Lantern movie was okay but flawed, and the nominal lead character John Stewart often felt like a supporting player in his own movie. And it's weird how much these movies jump around the continuity they supposedly share, with only tenuous connections.

    On the other hand, I also recently did a marathon rewatch (and first watch in a few cases) of the previous DC Animated Movie Universe. While it had a terrible start with Justice League: War, it's otherwise much better and more consistent overall than I remembered, and it was getting even better toward the end, so it's a shame they chose to end it in favor of a new (nominal) continuity which has mostly been inferior.
     
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