“Damn it Jim, what the hell is the matter with you? Other people have birthdays, why are we treating yours like a funeral?”
-Dr. McCoy, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
This week marks the 60th anniversary of one of the most renowned and beloved sci-fi franchises, Star Trek, which aired its first episode “The Man Trap” 60 years ago on September 8, 1966. That is quite an accomplishment and it’s wonderful that 60 years later the TV show is still relevant and launched a universe that was so rich and full of imagination which spawned more TV shows, films, books and other medium. Also, let’s not forget the endless merchandise that helped fans relive their favorite moments from the TV shows and films which are still sought out and created.
These are the Voyages…
For anyone who has been in cryosleep for the past 30 years, Star Trek, chronicled the adventures of space-faring explorers onboard the starship Enterprise led by Captain James T. Kirk (portrayed with a roguish relish by William Shatner) and his command crew which included the half-alien First Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who was coldly logical and the ship’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley), the emotional opposite of Spock. Each week the Enterprise crew explored Earth-like planets and encountered human-like aliens (give thanks to the show’s budget and available effects technology in the 1960s) and dealt with the pitfalls of their explorations. Given its now-quaint production values and presentation, Star Trek may come off as dated to modern audiences, but the essence of the scripts with their timely messages still resonate with us.
Throughout the decades, long after the original TV show was canceled, Star Trek grew as a franchise through syndicated reruns, merchandise, fan conventions, and later reunion films and finally TV spinoffs that focused on new crews in different time periods in the future. These shows, such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and StarTrek: Enterprise, eventually became as beloved, if not more than, the original Star Trek as they introduced rich characters and stories that captivated fans over and over again.
Trepidations
While this is an occasion to celebrate, especially for fans of the TV series and its numerous spinoffs, there is a general feeling of trepidation with Star Trek and its future. Why is that? Well, it is because of the dismal reception to the most recent Star Trek TV shows and the lack of clear plans for the future aside from yet another film in development. This seems odd given that in the past nine years we have gotten numerous TV shows but for the most part they failed to capture fandom’s imaginations or received the reverance the older TV shows had. Meanwhile on the film front, the last Star Trek film, Star Trek Beyond, was released ten years ago and was a box office disappointment, and led to an unintentional film hiatus. There have been endless pitches from writers and directors, even acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino proposed his own Star Trek film. But unfortunately none of the proposed films made it out of development hell as the franchise shifted its focus on TV productions.
There are many reasons why the modern Trek did not resonate with fans who themselves have splintered into various camps that automatically condemned anything new as “woke” or were convinced that modern Trek was too preachy thanks to scripts that failed to capture the magic of the older series. To be fair, a lot of the criticisms were valid but there were genuinely great Star Trek moments in the modern era, the best being the third season of Star Trek: Picard, followed by Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Lower Decks and on occasion Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
In preparation for the upcoming epic Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel Studios recently released a comprehensive list of films (and one TV show) to watch before Avengers: Doomsday. It includes obvious picks like Thunderbolts*, Fantastic Four: First Steps, X-Men, and Avengers: Endgame because they feature many characters, concepts, and situations that will appear in Avengers: Doomsday. However, many fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and other non-MCU Marvel films have noticed that several films and TV shows were not included in the list.
Admittedly, no one has to see every Marvel film or TV show to appreciate and understand Avengers: Doomsday, but there are a few entries that are worth mentioning for both hardcore and casual fans to watch before the upcoming Avengers film. Bear in mind, not all of the films on this list can be considered essential viewing but should provide context to Avengers: Doomsday, so each film or TV show listed will note how essential it is to watch. Let’s get started from the oldest entries to the most recent.
Spider-Man (2002)
There are lots of reports going around and supposed leaked images from the beginning of Avengers: Doomsday that allegedly feature the OG Spider-Man portrayed by Tobey Maguire. This film along with X-Men launched the modern age of comic book/superhero films with a world that is quite unlike the traditional MCU and set the template for how Spider-Man should be presented in live action. If rumors are correct this world and Spider-Man will perish at the beginning of Avengers: Doomsday as Spider-Man falls to the X-Men who invaded this world from their own dimension to prevent an incursion that would have destroyed both worlds. Seeing the world of Spider-Man in all its glory before it is doomed will add more emotional weight for viewers and fans of the original Spider-Man trilogy.
Level of Necessity to Watch: Minimal
Thor (2011)
Being that the God of Thunder is one of the main characters in Avengers: Doomsday it is odd that Marvel Studios did not list his first film while the first Captain America film, Captain America: The First Avenger, is listed. Both films serve as notable introductions to two main characters in Avengers: Doomsday. Thor also introduces one of the MCU’s greatest villains turned anti-hero, Loki, Thor’s mischevious half-brother, who will appear in Avengers: Doomsday. Plus, Loki’s TV show was officially listed by Marvel as essential to watch, so to better appreciate the character and the emotional journey and growth Loki undertakes by the last episode of Loki, start off with Thor.
Level of Necessity to Watch: Moderate
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Out of all the MCU appearances of Captain America this one comes closest to showing Steve Rogers’ dilemma as a man out of time. He finds it challenging to adapt to a new world which is unfamiliar to his traditional World War II setting and is why we can fully understand why at the end of Avengers: Endgame he chooses to return to that time period. More importantly this film introduces the Winter Soldier, one of the leaders of the New Avengers/Thunderbolts who will be prominent in Avengers: Doomsday. Sure we first meet Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The First Avenger, but he presumably died in that film. In this one, we find out how he survived and was transformed into the deadly by emotionally damaged Winter Soldier.
Level of Necessity to Watch: Moderate
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
This film is admittedly iffy as being essential to watch despite its greatness. It introduces the gigantic robot Sentinels that will be featured in Avengers: Doomsday as seen in the newest trailer and it was the first Marvel film to feature mash ups of characters from different film eras, in this case the OG X-Men and the then-new X-Men roster with Wolverine serving as a time-traveling anchor to both teams. The film also leans heavily into time travel mechanics that resets the X-Men timeline,which may or may not clash with time travel rules in the MCU, but we’ll have to see Avengers: Doomsday for ourselves to find out.
Level of Necessity to Watch: Minimal
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
The second Ant-Man film introduces the character of Ghost, who is one of the Thunderbolts/New Avengers and she is confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday. Her backstory is one of the film’s major storylines and we see how she starts off as a villain and becomes a more sympathetic character. Also, she is indirectly the reason why Ant-Man ended up trapped in the Quantum Realm dimension until he is released in the first act of Avengers: Endgame. So in a sense, this film is essential viewing to better understand Ant-Man’s appearance and contribution in Avengers: Endgame, which is a core film to watch before Avengers: Doomsday.
Level of Necessity to Watch: Minimal
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
Captain America: Brave New World is considered required to watch according to Marvel Studios but the list left out the TV limited series that preceeded that film. After seeing The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it can be argued that the TV show is more important to watch than the fourth Captain America film. It better presents Sam Wilson’s emotional journey to pick up the mantle of Captain America and it also focuses on Bucky Barnes as he grapples with his inner demons from his past as the Winter Soldier. The limited series also introduce audiences to Sam’s partner Joaquin Torres, the new Falcon, and John Walker, the bargain store Captain America, who is one of the founding members of the Thunderbolts/New Avengers, and both characters appear in Avengers: Doomsday.
Level of Necessity to Watch: Major
Black Widow (2021)
Out of all the films and TV shows on this list, this may be the most important one to watch before Avengers: Doomsday. Why? It introduces two major characters in the upcoming film, one of which is the leader of the Thunderbolts/New Avengers and is one of the most popular characters of the recent MCU films. That is, of course, Yelena Belova, the spunky stepsister of Natasha Romanov, one of the OG Avengers. Yelena is a genuine scene stealer as first seen in Black Widow and most recently in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.Black Widow also introduces fans to Yelana’s quirky and funny stepfather, the Red Guardian, who will also appear in the next Avengers film and that is no small potatoes!
Level of Necessity to Watch: Major
What If…?(2021)
The animated TV series is included here because its premise is focused solely on alternate realities, a cornerstone concept in the MCU Multiverse Saga and Avengers: Doomsday. Most likely the TV show will have no relevance to the Avengers film but it does a respectable job, especially in the first season, of exploring and explaining the concept of a multiverse. This was best shown in the final episodes of the first season which also showed what a badass villain Ultron really is and the formation of an interdimenssional superhero team. Sounds familiar? Stick with the first season if time is limited and since it’s an anthology show the episodes can be seen in any order for the most part.
Level of Necessity to Watch: Minimal
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Many consider the fourth Thor film to be the weakest entry, but it goves us with the most up-to-date iteration of the God of Thunder and where his mindset is in, which will continue in the upcoming Avengers film. Hopefully, he will not come off as a buffoon as he did in much of the film, though as shown in the Avengers: Doomsday trailers that does not seem to be the case. Thor: Love and Thunder has a major late plot development where Thor ends up with an adopted daughter called Love. She has been spotted in trailers for Avengers: Doomsday and her safety is supposedly one of the plot devices and Thor’s major motivation in the fifth Avengers film.
Level of Necessity to Watch: Moderate
The Marvels (2023)
This is one of the weaker MCU films but it has significant plot developments that are very relevant to the new Avengers film and the Multiverse Saga, overall. It’s odd why it was not included in the official list. Anyway, in the final act the villain tears open a hole in the MCU reality and one the Marvels, Monica Rambeau, uses her photonic powers to enter the hole into another reality in order to seal the hole. In The Marvel’s post credits scene it is revealed that she is trapped in the reality where the X-Men exist. This marks the first official crossover between the Fox X-Men and the MCU. The film also presents the beginning formation of the Young Avengers/Champions team who may appear in Avengers: Doomsday and/or Avengers: Secret Wars.
Perhaps all the talk about superhero fatigue in fims and TV shows may have been premature. At this weekend’s D23 Expo, Marvel Studios surged ahead with impressive announcements for its Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and this comes fresh off the studios’ massive success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
In the past few years, the MCU and other live-action superhero franchises have struggled with general audiences as many films and TV shows failed to capture the stunning success they experienced in the 2010s, as seen with Marvel Studios’ films last year. While that idea may have some merit, what is becoming clear is that at least with Marvel Studios they have course-corrected and laid the foundation for its comeback, which is starting to bear fruit.
It is true that recent MCU projects (putting aside the new Spider-Man film) were not resounding successes, they were well received by critics and fans as seen with Daredevil: Born Again, WonderMan, Thunderbolts* and Fantastic Four: First Steps, which helped to rehabilate the MCU’s reputation. By the time these properties made their debut, the MCU had developed a lukewarm reputation thanks to subpar films and TV shows like The Marvels and Secret Invasion. Marvel Studios in the early 2020s was forced to produce a glut of projects that were not well executed and the MCU suffered as a result. But thankfully, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige pulled back on output and emphasized quality over quantity and that is now starting to pay off. More importantly, people began to realized that MCU films and TV shows were back to being great.
The clearest sign of Marvel Studios’ renewed success of course comes from Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The latest Spider-Man film has astonished everyone by how successful it has become as it has just eatned over $2 billion in the box office. The film clearly proves that superhero film fatigue talk was premature and demonstrated that the only fatigue that existed was for mediocre films. While in the past, the film studios could get away with putting out inferior films, that no longer works. Put out a quality film with a popular character then it will be successful. Spider-Man: Brand New Day established that the character is one of, if not the most popular superheroes around and the film could be heralding a new golden age for the MCU. It has helped reignite interest in the MCU, which bodes well for Avengers: Doomsday and beyond.
There was a lot of doubt that Marvel Studios could inspire much interest in the upcoming Avengers film and questioned how the film’s villain, Doctor Doom, did not have the kind of lead up that Thanos had with the early MCU films. These questions appear to have been dispelled as seen with the reaction to the new trailer released during D23, which was previously shown at Comic-Con, and focused on Doctor Doom. There is a lot of intrigue behind the villain and the reason for his crusade, not to mention with his power scale as seen in the new trailer when he effortlessly brushed aside Thor’s attack and raised an army of robotic sentinels to attack the Avengers. Right now fans are pouring through every frame of the trailer and every nugget of leaks and rumors to find out what happens in the film and with its sequel Avengers: Secret Wars, not to mention which characters will appear in both films. But one set of characters has everyone especially excited.
Ever since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and the rights to the X-Men, Marvel and MCU fans have salivated over the idea of the mutants joining the MCU…and grown impatient. Despite having the rights to the X-Men, Marvel Studios was slow with introducing mutants into the MCU, but that has changed and started with the introduction of….Spoiler Warning for anyone who has not seen Spider-Man: Brand New Day….
Jean Grey, one of the founding members of the X-Men and portrayed by Sadie Sink.
At D23, Feige introduced the director of the upcoming X-Men film, Jake Schreirer, who was rightfully rewarded for his work on Thunderbolts* with this plum assignment. Sink was introduced on stage as one of the stars of the X-Men film and more actors were presented, such as Kit Connor as Cyclops/Scott Summers, Maya Boyd as Storm/Ororo Munroe, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Anna Marie/Rogue, Christopher Abbott as Professor X/Charles Xavier, and Adam Driver (appearing on video) as Mr. Sinister/Nathan Milberry. The announcements left out other characters like Beast, Iceman, Angel and Magneto, though it’s not known at this time if they will appear in X-Men, which comes out May 5, 2028. What was refreshing about Driver plaing Mr. Sinister is that the film won’t go with the usual route of Magneto being the main villain.
Expect a full cast for X-Men to be revealed later on, perhaps with another day-long YouTube video featuring chairs with names on them. Or that may be reserved for Avengers: Secret Wars which is expected to have an even larger cast than Avengers: Doomsday. Speaking of the Avengers: Doomsday cast, once again we were teased with Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds possibly appearing in the film as Wolverine and Deadpool. This has not been officially announced, and there is no word if Tobey Maguire will appear as the OG Spider-Man, but this is driving everyone insane by now.
Even though everyone is excited by the coming slate of MCU films, many are concerned about the apparent demise of MCU TV shows on Disney+. After VisionQuest and the third season of Daredevil: Born Again there have been no announcements at D23 of anymore live-action MCU TV shows. This was made worse with the recent cancellation of Wonder Man even though a second sesaon was announced a few months following the positive reception it received. It has been reported in the Hollywood trades that Disney is pivoting away from live-action MCU and Star Wars TV shows because they appear to be diluting the brands and affecting the box office numbers for the films and the costs for producing them are too high. This is regrettable because Marvel Studios has produced some genuinely terrific TV shows. The problem they had goes back to the early 2020s with the Disney mandate to produce a glut of product which led to many terrible TV shows being produced. This clearly hurt the MCU brand and could have been remedied by cutting back and concentrating on producing permium TV shows like HBO does. This can work as we saw with Daredevil: Born Again and VisionQuest which looks like it will be great as well. There are rumors that Marvel Studios will produce one-off special presentations like Punisher: One Last Kill or Werewolf By Night, and will supposedly feature the Defenders and Strange Academy, as well as a sequel to Werewolf By Night. At least it’s something, but Disney is foolish if they completely abandon MCU television.
On a more positive note, it’s a relief to feel genuine excitement for the MCU and its upcoming projects. Any doubts about the MCU have been thankfully dispelled for now. Of course, helping to get rid of any concerns for good is if Avengers: Doomsday turns out to be great and makes a ton of money, which it will, as long as the film is well received by fans and critics. Otherwise, it could wind up like Avengers: Age of Ultron, which while it was financially successful, it dampened enthusiasm for Avengers films until Avengers: Infinty War came along. If Avengers: Doomsday ends up being a hit, and who knows if it can match or exceed the runaway success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, expect enthusiasm to go into overdrive for Avengers: Secret Wars and beyond.We can’t wait!
After skipping out of the San Diego Comic-Con last year, Marvel Studios made a welcome return to the convention yesterday to Hall H with tantalizing announcements that point the way forward for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The announcements were not on par with past announcements like Robert Downey, Jr. playing Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday or revealing a mammoth list of upcoming projects. But Marvel Studios did put on a good presentation for the public with exclusive footage from this week’s release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and this December’s Avengers: Doomsday, along with an impressive roster of actors from the latter film appearing on stage along with Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige and the directors of the new Avengers film, Joe and Anthony Russo.
What caught everyone’s interest was an appearance by Ryan Reynolds playing Deadpool who popped out of the audience and teased the cast as to why Thor was crying in a cryptic scene from Deadpool & Wolverine–a question that was leveled at Paul Rudd who plays Ant-Man. The question while playful had dark undertones with the implication that Ant-Man will die in Avengers: Doomsday. There was also the question that everyone had about whether or not Deadpool will appear in the Avengers film. So far, the answer appears to be no, but Reynolds did reveal in a recent interview that there are plans for a new Deadpool film.
The last announcement made by Feige after the Avengers: Doomsday presentation ended did not surprise anyone: a third Black Panther film coming in December 15, 2028, to be directed by Ryan Coogler. What blew the roof off the hall was that the announcement that Black Panther will be now played by David Jonnson. Genre fans will recognize him from his appearances in Alien: Romulus and The Long Walk. This was very welcome news given Johnson’s natural charisma and acting talent, and frankly he was the best part of those films. So him playing T’Challa’s grown up son who picks up the mantle of the Black Panther, plus Coogler’s revelation that Black Panther III will be filmed in large format film amped up interest in this film.
The most surprising revelation at Hall H was the announcement of a new Ghost Rider starring Ryan Gosling, to be directed by Shawn Levy and slated for release in 2028. Apparently Gosling and Levy’s collaboration in next year’s Star Wars: Starfighter went so well that they are teaming up again for the MCU. It was not revealed which version of Ghost Rider Gosling will play but expect him to play the original Johnny Blaze version. It’s interesting to note that the actor is married to Eva Mendes who appeared in the original Ghost Rider film in 2007 and it would be nifty if she appears in the reboot. Some have concerns that Levy who is known for more lightweight films will be directing a film that should be more horror based given the superhero’s horror roots. Regardless, nearly everyone is excited by the idea of Ryan Gosling playing Ghost Rider as many have fan casted throughout the years. As long as it turns out better than the original and it doesn’t end up being unfilmed like what happened with Blade. Hopefully Feige and Marvel Studios know better now and seems to have since at least a director has been locked in and not just the lead actor.
Regarding the MCU TV shows, no major announcements or trailers were released. The only thing mentioned by Feige was that VisionQuest will conclude the Wanda trilogy. Most likely the big announcements about MCU TV shows (and trailer releases) will be done at the D23 Expo on August 14.
It’s also worth mentioning that despite speculation there won’t be any secret MCU films planned for between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, the latter of which won’t be a two-part film. Another thing missing from the Marvel Studios presentation was any news about the new X-Men film. That could be due to the fact that there isn’t a full cast and the desire to keep Sadie Sink’s character in Spider-Man: Brand New Day a secret for a while longer (the popular theory is that she is playing Jean Grey, a founding member of the X-Men). Apparently, Marvel Studios is keeping its cards hidden in order to avoid the past embarrassment of announcing a bunch of projects that never get made–see Blade, Inhumans, Armor Wars; and this is for the best. Give the fans a few nuggets of information about definite projects when they are ready to be announced.
It’s easy to say that given the failure of several recent superhero films that superhero fatigue is upon us. However, given the excitement of upcoming superhero projects at this year’s Comic-Con that may not be the case.
The relatively new cinematic universe, DC Universe (DCU), got off to a solid start with last year’s release of Superman and two TV shows, Creature Commandos and the second season of Peacemaker. However, the DCU and DC Studios, which produces the DCU films and TV shows, have been rattled by the failure of the DCU sophomore film, Supergirl.
It was hoped by DC Studios that Supergirl’s popular cameo appearance in Superman would translate to a healthy and respectable box office performance with her solo film. No one expected it to earn $1 billion dollars but at least it should have earned $400 to $500 million and help cement the DCU. Unfortunately that was not how things turned out and based on BTS stories about how DC Studios struggled with the film’s poor reception during previews is not a surprise. As the film was being put together the film studio and its head James Gunn saw that Supergirl was not scoring well during previews and the film was hastily edited. This resulted in a movie that felt disjointed in its mood. Sometimes it felt like a gritty and somber Mad Max-style action piece. Other times it seemed as if it was trying to ape the atmosphere of a more light-hearted and goofy space adventure like Guardians of the Galaxy.
This doesn’t mean that Supergirl is a terrible film. It has its faults but overall it was a fine superhero film and certainly cannot be compared to those awful Sony films featuring Spider-Man villains or some of the worst of the former DC Extended Universe (DCEU). But in DC Studios’ situation, the film had to be more than fine, it had to stand out and resonate with audiences. Perhaps if they delayed the film to tinker with it some more in reshoots or editing and released it another time it would have fared better. It is maddening to think that Warner Bros. thought that releasing the film in late June sandwiched between the animated juggernauts of Toy Story 5 and Minions & Monsters was a good idea. They could have released the film in early May where it had no competition. It probably would have still received the same negative to mixed reviews but it might have earned much more than it will now. Traditionally, the early May schedule was reserved for films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but this year, there were no MCU films scheduled with only The Devil Wears Prada 2 in the way.
Despite how much Monday-morning-quarterbacking can go on, Supergirl is in the rearview mirror. Where does the DCU go from here? Is it already doomed? Will James Gunn be removed? To answer the last two questions: no the DCU is not in trouble though it took a nasty black eye from Supergirl’s failure and it is too premature to deem the DCU dead or in trouble, and Gunn’s position is safe…for now. Certainly the next DCU film, Clayface, has to do very well, as well as the upcoming TV show, Lanterns. The success of one or both projects will stem all the negativity the film studio is getting until the big test coming with next year’s Superman: Man of Tomorrow.
Fortunately, the previews for Clayface and Lanterns have been received well, especially Clayface’s. What is helping Clayface is that it seems more like a horror film and will come out at a perfect time to take advantage of that perception. Plus, being perceived as a horror film helps distinguish Clayface from standard superhero/comic book films and this is something that DCU needs at the moment. Meanwhile, Lanterns is being marketed as more of a murder mystery which will annoy Green Lantern fans who expected a traditional space adventure, but the more grounded TV show could pull in viewers who are not traditional superhero fans.
Of course, none of that will matter if Superman: Man of Tomorrow does not perform well. Going for it is that like Superman, it is being directed by James Gunn and the reaction to what has been revealed about it has been positive. Given Gunn’s talent, it is unlikely that the film will get negative reception but it has to do at least as well as Superman and earn over $600 million to keep the DCU viable. Its success also will determine the future of the DCU and James Gunn’s position as head of DC Studios.
Gunn’s contract with Warner Bros. will end next spring and no one can say for certain if he will remain as the president of DC Studios. Many have speculated with Warner Bros. being taken over by Paramount Pictures that it will mean that there will be massive executive changes at Warner Bros. Paramount could take a hard look at how the DCU is performing and demand changes or else. Whether or not Gunn will go along with this is unknown, and it has to be considered that he will be wooed by other film studios, starting with Disney. Do not be surprised if news comes out next year after Superman: Man of Tomorrow is released that Gunn will leave DC Studios to work for Marvel Studios with the intent that he could take it over at some point in the future. If that happens what becomes of the DCU? Who will take over and what direction will it take? Obscure heroes like Booster Gold and the Authority will be disregarded for proven popular characters, that is certain. But do not expect a return of the old DCEU or its creator Zack Snyder despite what some fans wish for.
There are many unknowns but expect a hard shift to focus on Batman as the lynchpin of the new DCU. Given the supposed lack of progress in launching a new Batman for the DCU, Gunn could face pressure to just fold The Batman films into the DCU since the first film, was very successful. The only thing is that that grounded version of Batman will be nearly impossible to connect it to the more bright and goofy DCU that Gunn has created. Of course, all this could be moot if the next couple of films and TV shows succeeds.
It is unlikely that the DCU will be dissolved by Warner Bros. anytime soon. It just got started with only two films under its belt. The cinematic universe has not achieved the disastrous results of the DCEU and still has some good will towards it. Some adjustments will have to be made just as Marvel Studios did and continue to do with their MCU films and TV shows. For one, James Gunn will have to step away from actively directing films and concentrate on running DC Studios. Trying to do both is impossible since running a film studio and maintaining the quality of films is a full time position. He has to devote more time to ensuring that what comes out is above average and deserves to be made, otherwise you end up with another Supergirl. Another thing for Gunn to contemplate is that although he loves quirky obscure characters major DCU projects cannot be devoted to them. He should be paying his full attention to the most popular DC characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and so on. It’s fine to feature the quirky characters in films about popular characters like Superman did. Doing so would serve as a testbed for the quirky character and see if they are well received by fans, as what happened with Mr. Terrific, who is being considered for a TV show.
So, is it time to panic for DC Studios? Not yet, it’s early, Warner Bros. and the fans just have to be more patient and see how upcoming projects turn out. Yes, Supergirl is a failure but this experience was an opportunity for Gunn and the film studio to learn from the mistakes and make adjustments. Seeing what worked and what doesn’t will guarantee future success for the DCU going forward.
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