Tag Archives: Superman

Jul 12 2026

DCU: Fallout From Supergirl

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.

Mar 1 2026

RIP Warner Bros.

In the end, the tech bros bullied their way to get their toys. After months of threats and whining, Paramount made an offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery that was so high that made the previous bidder for the entertainment giant, Netflix, back away. The result? Most certainly, Warner Bros. will essentially cease to exist as it is merged into Paramount.

Paramount already stated that HBO, the premium cable service and its app HBO Max will be merged into its anemic Paramount+ streaming platform and the company will initiate billions of dollars in cuts to Warner Bros. which translates to lost jobs that would have been largely secure if the Netflix acquisition went through. Netflix promised to continue releasing Warner Bros. films in theaters and would have treated HBO and Warner Bros. as a prestige arm of Netflix, but now that is off the table.

Given the result of the last major merger of two entertainment companies, Disney and 20th Century Fox, turned out to be that Fox for all intents and purposes vanished, this development does not bode well for Warner Bros. Then again looking at Paramount’s meager film releases lately (they don’t even have any Star Trek films scheduled to be released this year during the franchise’s 60th anniversary), which has been small and nothing to rave about, perhaps buffering their release schedule with Warner Bros. product may be an improvement. Just keep in mind that ever since Skydance acquired Paramount last year, there has been very little for the company to rave about and they are in significant debt, and will have much more when they complete their purchase. This will likely mean far less offerings from our favorite genre franchises.

This development is very alarming given the closeness the owners of Paramount have with Donald Trump and his administration and their willingness to essentially become a media arm of the administration by hampering critics of the administration. Anyone thinking the bigwigs at Paramount won’t interfere with the creatives will be in for a rude awakening. Yes, Paramount owns Star Trek and the franchise has been derided by the right wing for being “too woke”, which is laughable since Star Trek has always been more progressive than believed and pushed barriers ever since the pilot episode. But it is believed that once the contract for Alex Kurtzman, the top creative behind the current Star Trek franchise, expires this year, Star Trek will undergo a massive rebooting and who knows what will direction it will take under the current owners.

Getting back to Warner Bros., obviously its properties like DC, Looney Tunes, Mad Max, Dune, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones will now belong to Paramount, cue the Star Trek/DC tie-in comics and Spongebob meets Bugs Bunny cartoons. Now, if Paramount had a brain and left its owners’ agendas at the door, it would leave the franchises alone to to do their own thing. Let’s see if this happens.

Even though James Gunn and Peter Safran, the current heads of DC Studios, will remain in their positions, according to Paramount, do not expect this arrangement to last. Given Gunn’s outspoken views against Trump and the fact that his film Superman blatantly criticized the policies of the Trump administration, expect some major pushback from Paramount with future DC projects. What could very well happen is that once his contract expires, Gunn will bail and if Disney moved fast they would snatch him up immediately and groom him to take over Marvel Studios once Kevin Feige retires. Even if Disney does not hire Gunn, he will be a hot commodity who will be sought after by the few remaining film studios.

Of course, the merger of two major film studios would violate anti-trust laws, and there was precedent for this when Disney brought Fox in 2017. That event could have been considered a one-off situation, but this one happening less than ten years after the Disney purchase. This could lead to more mergers and in the end audiences and consumers lose out. Don’t be surprised if we get news soon about more mergers. Sure there are laws against this but since when did that impeded the current corporate-friendly government?

No matter anyone’s beliefs, this development is disturbing because the lessening of competition will lead to less choice and increased prices for consumers. Naturally, the only way to counter this is though money, the only thing the corporations listen to. For now, let’s take a moment of silence to commemorate Warner Bros. and HBO for their decades of quality films and TV shows.

Dec 28 2025

Top Ten Films & TV Shows of 2025

2025 delivered many exceptional genre films and television shows that surprised us with their quality and pushed boundaries. Many of them will be remembered for quite some time and others set the standards for existing franchises. Here are the ten best films and TV shows of 2025.

Films

10. Good Boy

Indy the dog stole the show in this inventive supernatural horror film told from the point of view of a good dog trying to protect his owner from a supernatural threat. What added to the suspense was the vulnerability of the dog and the fact that only he could sense the danger threatening his owner.

9. The Life of Chuck

2025 was a banner year for good to great Stephen King adaptations, and The Life of Chuck was the best of them as this heartfelt fantasy film explored themes dealing with loss, sadness, endings, and the wondrous joy of simple everyday things and relationships.

8. Jurassic World: Rebirth

Despite many criticisms made about the latest Jurassic World entry, it was unexpectedly thrilling and engaging. Sure, some of the plotlines were rethreads, but they were presented well and the film delivered some great dinosaur action.  

7. How to Train Your Dragon

This live-action remake of the classic DreamWorks animated film about a Viking teen and his pet dragon proved that it is possible to produce a topnotch live-action film based animated classics. This is something Disney sorely needs to study going forward with their endless remakes.

6. The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Finally, a quality film about Marvel Comics’ first family has been done. Great performances, production and special effects are the highlights of this charming film about family and facing cosmic horror. The film gets extra points just for not depicting Galactus as a giant space cloud!

5. Sinners

Michael B. Jordan is at the top of his acting game playing dual roles in Ryan Coogler’s haunting vampire film. What could have been a simple vampire tale was instead of tour de force from Coogler that explored America’s cultural and racial divide with exceptional visual storytelling.

4. Predator: Badlands

Just like last year’s Alien: Romulus reinvigorated that franchise, so too does Predator: Badlands with its own franchise about alien hunters. This time, the eponymous alien hunter is shown in a heroic light in this imaginative sci-fi action/adventure romp that fleshes out the species of the Predator as it skillfully blends with the Alien franchise.

3. Frankenstein

Guillermo Del Toro wowed audiences once again with his vivid imaginative storytelling skills. The latest adaptation of Mary Shelly’s literary masterpiece follows the essence of the book while veering off into unique directions that explore the father and son dynamic between the title character and his monstrous yet sympathetic creation.

2. Superman

Director and head of DC Studios James Gunn successfully launched the new DC Universe (DCU) with a fresh and interpretation of the Man of Steel. Superman and his colorful superhero world is rightfully depicted in a bright, hopeful light that cleverly raises questions about our current events and society. Superman is a very promising start to the DCU and we can’t wait for the latest entry.

1. TIE: Avatar: Fire and Ash/Thunderbolts*

This is a first for this blog, the two best films of 2025 were that great but so close in quality for different reasons that it was too hard to choose one above the other. So the two best films of 2025 are a tie.

Once again James Cameron proves why he is one of our greatest filmmakers with Avatar: Fire and Ash. The visuals and worldbuilding in this sci-fi epic are jaw dropping and must be seen in large screens. Some of the set pieces are too familiar but Avatar: Fire and Ash does develop many characters and kept us engaged with the plight of the moon Pandora as it faced evil human colonists.

Thunderbolts* aka The New Avengers was unexpectedly the best superhero film of 2025 thanks to heartfelt performances and chemistry among its cast and an emotional story of misfit mercenaries who become unlikely superheroes. Unlike the typical superhero romp, Thunderbolts* focused on characters and explored adult themes of mental and emotional health, loneliness, addiction and depression. We’ll be rooting for these underdogs when they return in Avengers: Doomsday.

Honorable Mentions:

28 Years Later, Bring Her Back, Bugonia, Captain America: Brave New World, Companion, The Electric State, The Gorge, The Great Flood, It Ends, The Long Walk, Predator: Killer of Killers, Primitive War, Weapons, Zootopia 2

Television

10. Paradise

This murder mystery that took place in a post-apocalyptic underground town shelter was elevated by great performances by Sterling K. Brown and James Marsden and an engrossing storyline that kept viewers guessing about what happened to the world and who murdered the U.S. president.

9. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

The third season of the only remaining Star Trek show (for now) had its problems such as its uneven tone and showcasing too much of James T. Kirk (the show is supposed to be about Captain Pike). Still, some of the episodes were true standouts that proved there were still great Star Trek episodes to be presented.

8. Marvel Zombies

Put together classic characters from the MCU and zombie horror and what do you get? A terrifically gory and fast-moving series with some outrageous zombie action that demands a second season! Hopefully there will be more than four episodes.

7. Peacemaker

While the season finale dropped the ball as it turned out to be a drawn-out coda with concert footage, the second season of Peacemaker was for the most part a captivating look exploration of the title character’s wounded psyche as he second guessed his place in the DCU.

6. Stranger Things 5

The final season of Netflix’s breakout sci-fi/horror show was a bit all over the place with multiple characters and such, but it was still a solid sendoff to our favorite young residents of Hawkins as they had their final confrontations with the extra-dimensional horrors of the Upside Down realm.

5. Daredevil: Born Again

Marvel’s premier superhero TV show had a solid comeback in this sequel to the original Netflix show. Even though Daredevil and his crime-ridden world are now firmly part of the MCU, the TV show was just as gritty and grounded as the original. Stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio turn in some of the best performances of their careers as they reprised their roles as Daredevil and Wilson Fisk, respectively.

4. Severance

The sophomore season of this dark psychological workplace thriller threw audiences for a loop with many unexpected plot twists and character developments. It was very easy to relate to the plight of the office worker drones forced to have their out-of-work identities and memories erased and their efforts to fight the cold company they work for.

3. Pluribus

Vince Gilligan (famous for his TV shows Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) returned to his sci-fi roots with this quietly disturbing slow-burn TV show about a disgruntled novelist (Rhea Seehorn in one of the year’s best performances) forced to fight isolation, her inner demons, and to save humanity after an extra-terrestrial signal transforms nearly everyone into a global hive mind.

2. It: Welcome to Derry

Part sequel, part prequel to the It films from a few years ago, It: Welcome to Derry was one of the best surprises when it came to TV shows. Each episode was horrifying with macabre set pieces and featured rich character development that fleshed out Stephen King’s fictional town. In addition to the characters, the TV show also had many unexpected twists and fleshed out the expansive King multiverse in an organic manner that made us want to further explore it, no pun intended.

1. Andor

No other TV show came close to matching the artistry of Andor, which is easily the best Star Wars television show of all time and one of the best TV shows of any genre. The second and final season was a tense spy thriller set in the Star Wars universe with many brutal and heart wrenching political storylines that echoed our own civil strife as it chronicled the death of democracy and the bitter origins of the resistance to stand against tyranny. Andor also engaged audiences with thought-out character development which showcased their ambivalent nature in their fight for and against the Galactic Empire.

Honorable Mentions:

Alien: Earth, Black Mirror, Doctor Who, The Eternaut, Eyes of Wakanda, Fallout, Foundation, Gen V, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Institute, Invincible, Ironheart, The Last of Us, Murderbot, Wednesday, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

  

Dec 6 2025

The Impact Of Netflix Buying Warner Bros.

In the biggest cinematic and media earthquake since the Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox and many of its assets, Netflix announced that it will purchase Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion. This is one of the most important events to happen with film, TV, videos, comics, and other media and it will have long-lasting repercussions throughout the media industry.

Up for Sale

Warner Bros. had been up for sale for some time and several major companies expressed interest in buying it, especially Paramount Skydance. Many expected Paramount to purchase Warner Bros. given their public and aggressive efforts to purchase the company but in the end the streaming giant Netflix beat out Paramount and will acquire the film and HBO segments of Warner Bros. as it chose not to purchase the cable TV channels that were part of Warner Bros. Discovery. This acquisition will give Netflix access and ownership to an impressive film and television library and major IPs, including DC, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Matrix, Game of Thrones, Mad Max and more.

Many have watched the bidding war with caution and were concerned with a possible ownership by Paramount, mostly because its CEO, David Ellison, has openly expressed fealty to the Trump Administration to the point that a Rush Hour 4 has been greenlit simply because Trump expressed interest in such a film. This meant that the government has influence on what media entertainment gets released, which leads to First Amendment questions. Imagine if Paramount bought Netflix and the government had a hand in deciding the direction of DC films, TV or comics. A film like Superman, which openly criticized America’s current immigration policies, would never be allowed by Ellison. On the other hand, the purchase by Netflix has opened up another can of worms that has the film industry reeling because of the implications.

Streaming Influence

One possibility of the purchase is that it could lead to the death of cinemas since the majority, if not all, Warner Bros. films could be released straight to streaming. This would create a domino effect with other film studios copying the release model, which would hasten the demise of the theater-going experience.

This has been a growing problem in recent years that was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic which caused many film and TV studios to lean heavily on streaming to provide content to consumers. Netflix has upended the conventional model of film releases where films normally had theatrical lives of a few months before being available on digital or for streaming. This has conditioned viewers to skip going to theaters and just wait for a film to appear on a streaming app a short while after its release. Now it is becoming the norm that films would be released on streaming weeks after a theatrical release and even the same day the film premieres in theaters. Many have speculated that Superman might have had a larger box office haul if it was not announced roughly a month after its initial film release that it would be available for home viewing. While short theatrical runs is convenient and deceptively cheaper for consumers (the idea that they will see the film for free on streaming is silly since they still have to pay for the service), this practice is a major issue with theaters with lost revenue and content.

Another supposed plus for Netflix subscribers is that the service will have an even more exhaustive library of content, but now with prestige content. One problem for the streaming company was that recently it did not have easy access to popular content as film and TV companies created their own streaming services. Netflix has been criticized for having a glut of inferior films and TV shows that are just placed on the streaming app with little promotion. It’s true that Netflix has many quality and popular TV and films like Stranger Things, Wednesday, Squid Game, The Witcher, Black Mirror, and KPop Demon Hunters, with the glut of content dumped on the platform a lot of quality product has gotten lost in the overwhelming mixture. How will prestige films and TV shows from HBO and Warner Bros. stand out from the low-budget dreck flooding Netflix’s landing page?

One possibility is that Warner Bros. and HBO could have their own pages or remain as separate streaming services as we see now with Hulu, which is owned by Disney but is its own streaming service that subscribers of Disney+ could access by purchasing a bundle service. This would allow Netflix to have its own prestige platform to stream high-end quality products that stand out in the crowded streaming service.

But do not be surprised when the monthly subscription rate for Netflix increases dramatically to help pay for the $82 billion purchase. Expect to pay up to $50 and more monthly in a few years.

Impact on DC & Other Popular IP

Now the big question genre fans have is what impact will the purchase have on DC Studios and the DC Universe (DCU) and other popular genre IP? For now nothing. There are contracts that have to be honored so projects in production should be safe, so no worries about Man of Tomorrow, Clayface, or Supergirl. However, the head of DC Studios, James Gunn, might get pressured to favor some popular characters like Batman over obscure ones that he favors such as Booster Gold. Let’s hope that Netflix executives learned a lesson from Disney and Marvel Studios, where in the early 2020s the Disney executives forced the film studio to quickly churn out a lot of TV shows and films to fill out content on Disney+ and to announce projects before they were ready. What happened was that a lot of mediocre films and TV shows were released which damaged the reputation of Marvel Studios’ films and TV shows and led to the recent reduced box office haul for some of their films. Sure, Marvel Studios is taking steps to course correct, but they’re still recovering from this misstep.

Getting back to DCU and all things DC, it’s possible Netflix may force Gunn to step up the output of DC films and TV shows since again Netflix wants a return for their investment. Thankfully, The Batman, Part II is about to enter production, which may keep the streaming company off Gunn’s back. On the other, the company might pressure him to make a decision on the DCU version of Batman soon, and casting some of the more popular DC characters in order to greenlight productions already. Despite rumors about Gunn leaving DC Studios, which were rampant when Paramount was actively looking to purchase Warner Bros., it has been reported that Gunn will stay put. Even though there hasn’t been a lot of DCU projects released to date, Superman, Peacemaker and Creature Commandos have been well received and Netflix is not foolish enough to scrap the DCU and go through the trouble to launch another reboot at this time.

One thing to consider is that while the more obscure DC characters may not get the big-screen treatment, they could wind up as straight-to-streaming projects that could be a proving ground for the characters. The main thing is to just let Gunn alone to produce quality product and all should be fine. In fact, this should be the case for all of the film and TV projects.

While it’s very possible that Netflix will greenlight a lot of DC animated films there won’t be a revival of the Snyderverse. After the dismal failure of the Rebel Moon films, Netflix has been moving away from filmmaker Zack Snyder and it is doubtful that the company will approve a revival of his brand of DC films. The slimmest of hope for diehard Snyderverse bros is that some kind of Elseworlds animated film will be made.

Oh yes, expect Stranger Things and DC to have a crossover in the comics, along with comic books featuring Harry Potter and other popular Warner Bros. IP.

As for other IPs like Mad Max, It and related Stephen King works, and Harry Potter, there has not been any word yet about them. But it’s expected that Netflix will take full advantage of their newly acquired IP. Announced projects like the reboot of Harry Potter, more TV shows based on Game of Thrones, and the second season of It: Welcome to Derry will proceed as scheduled and if HBO is kept as a separate streaming platform those prestige projects will stream there first before migrating to Netflix years later. Will we ever see shelved projects like Batgirl or genre TV shows that were removed from HBO Max such as Westworld or Raised By Wolves? It’s anyone’s guess, but consider this: these projects were removed to save on paying residuals or for tax write offs by Warner Bros. Without these burdens and with the need to put out recognizable content, it is possible that these projects may have a second life on Netflix.

Of course, there are a lot of hurdles for Netflix such as government approval so it will be at least two years before we see any impact. For now, the company indicated they will leave things alone, and supposedly commit to theatrical releases for Warner Bros. films, which would be to their and everyone’s benefit.

Aug 11 2025

We Are The Winners Of The Summer 2025 Superhero Film War

It sounds like a cliche by now to make a statement that we fans are the true winners of summer 2025’s superhero film wars between Marvel and DC, but it’s true. It does not matter which of the two films, Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, is better, although fans have made arguments that Superman was better than The Fantastic Four: First Steps and vice versa. It’s all subjective and open to interpretation. What matters is that we finally got a summer where the two superhero-based film studios, Marvel Studios and DC Studios, went head to head with top-tier film releases that were well made and successful (more on that soon).

The result was that we were treated to two great superhero films in a relatively short amount of time. It would have been better if they performed better at the box office but they are not flops. Who knows what would have happened if both films pulled in a billion dollars? Would this have triggered some kind of race between the two studios to outdo each other at every turn? This would not be realistic or viable and probably lead to a huge crash after some of their films failed. Perhaps the films would have made a lot more money if their releases were not so close to each other since the films came out in a two-week period. Both studios should adjust their release schedules to consider this.

One thing to dispel is that there isn’t superhero fatigue. That is something that trolls and others want to create a narrative in order to drive clicks and views. Sure, we are past the heyday of the superhero craze and the new normal is that they are not guaranteed box office gold. But that is because too many inferior films came out which turned off many to superhero films. The two studios should share some blame for that but other studios, especially Sony Pictures, dumped out garbage like Madame Web and Morbius, which diluted the Marvel name and superhero films in general. It does not matter that the Sony Spider-Man-less films were not part of the Marvel Studios films; the average moviegoer does not know or pay attention to such subtleties. Even though Sony announced they won’t produce any more of these films, the damage has been done.

Right now both Marvel Studios and DC Studios are in a rebuilding phase. Both of this summer’s superhero films launched new phases for their shared cinematic universes and past history has shown that the early films of the studios started off relatively small but they built interest for the characters who later on headlined blockbuster films. For example, Man of Steel earned $670 million dollars, while that is great for most films, Warner Bros., the parent company of DC Studios, would have preferred it earned more. The following film after Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was more successful in part because it featured Superman. The problem for Warner Bros. is that they got greedy and impatient and jumped into the big tentpole epics like Justice League, which did not allow for the characters and events to grow naturally. In the end, these films failed to make the money Warner Bros. wanted and eventually the first DC shared universe collapsed.

James Gunn took over the DC films and is now carefully launching a new cinematic universe. For the most part, he is keeping things close as to what direction the films will take. As far as we know the only followup film in the new DC universe that is coming out will be Supergirl, while on TV Lanterns and Peacemaker will be streaming soon. Gunn has made it clear, that future films will only go into production once a complete script satisfies everyone, which is how it should be. Right now, Superman will have earned $600 very soon and maybe will finish out its run earning a bit more, which means it is profitable. This is a promising start for the new DC films but it’s important that Superman appear soon in future films in order to keep the character fresh with audiences.

Meanwhile, the early Marvel Studios films did not even come close to making a billion dollars until The Avengers. The Marvel films released this year were not outright flops nor were they were humongous successes, although the final numbers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps is not known at this time. The films earned from as low as $382 million (for Thunderbolts*) to $434 million and counting for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In the end, the latter film will probably finish its run with over $500 million, which is respectable.

Marvel Studios tried to repeat this pattern with Phase Four of their films after the Infinity Saga ended. But circumstances prevented followups to the Phase Four films TV shows and characters. Sure, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a hit back in 2021 and all, but where is the sequel? Where is Shang-Chi for that matter? Yes, he will appear in Avengers: Doomsday but that will be a time gap of five years between appearances, which is too long. This lack of followup was a huge error on Marvel’s part. They had to keep to momentum going with Shang-Chi, especially since he was an unknown character. In the past, after minor and unknown characters made their debuts, Marvel Studios quickly featured them in other films to keep up interest. Examples of this include the Guardians of the Galaxy and Doctor Strange, who rocketed in popularity after they made appearances in Avengers films and their future films earned much more than their debut films. This even happened with the Marvel Studios version of Spider-Man. His debut film, Spider-Man: Homecoming, did not make a billion dollars but his second and third films did so, easily. This formula will work with the Fantastic Four and other new characters. Thankfully, Marvel Studios will repeat this formula in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday as that film will feature the Fantastic Four, the Sam Wilson Captain America, and the Thunderbolts.

Both film studios are focusing on quality and long-term strategies, which is great because this will help word of mouth for these superhero films. Marvel Studios now has genuine competition when it comes to producing quality superhero films. Again this is great for us fans. Even the head of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, has said in the past that he wanted DC films to succeed because the competition would be good for Marvel Studios. Competition generates innovation and creativity and encourages competitors to do their best work. In fact, the lack of competition from DC could be seen as one of the reasons why Marvel Studios floundered for a few years.

It is great that there is genuine competition between the two superhero film studios. Whether or not Superman or The Fantastic Four: First Steps is more successful is irrelevant at this point, although Superman is the clear winner when it comes to box office result. Both films can be enjoyed by fans for what they bring to the table. What matters is that two great superhero films came out in one summer, which is something we have not had in a while. This is why we are the winners in this competition.