Warner Bros. Discovery’s New 10-Year DC Plan Will Follow Kevin Feige’s MCU Model. What Does This Mean For The Snyderverse?
The recent shakeup at Warner Brothers Discovery has resulted in the first sign of common sense. Speaking at the Warner Bros. Discovery Q2 Earnings Call, newly minted CEO David Zaslav revealed plans to “reset” DC and follow a similar path to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For ten years, Warner Bros. has been trying to launch its own DC cinematic universe, but competing visions and egos resulted in a disconnected and incoherent DC universe.
Zaslav has rightly put DC “at the top of the list” moving forward. As IP goes, DC should be producing popular content that rivals, if not usurps, Marvel. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are marquee characters that were, at one stage, more well-known and popular than Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. The fact that Warner Bros. didn’t produce billion-dollar hits with these characters is a problem of mismanagement rather than the comic book source material. It’s an obvious statement to anyone, but Zaslav hinted that there have been internal problems within the exec team at Warner Bros.
“We have done a reset. We’ve restructured the business where we’re going to focus. There will be a team with a ten-year plan focusing just on DC. It’s very similar to the structure that Alan Horn and Bob Iger put together very effectively with Kevin Feige at Disney.”
Zaslav made it clear that the MCU model is the best approach. Zack Snyder fans are hoping this means Zaslav will #restorethesnyderverse. And while Snyder did get some vindication with the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the recent expose by Rolling Stone paints an unflattering picture of Snyder. Like Snyder or not, he did have a vision for a DC cinematic universe and most fans were happy with the casting of Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck as Superman and Batman respectively. But they were divided on the handling of the characters.
Zaslav’s use of the word “reset” is hard to decipher in the context of the recent cancellation of Batgirl, the potential pushback of the release of The Flash, and the surprise return of the Batfleck in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Affleck was meant to be done with the cape and cowl after The Flash, with Michael Keaton returning to the role as the connected universe’s Batman. Keaton was also meant to appear in Batgirl, and now his future is in jeopardy. It’s quite the reversal of fortune, and Affleck’s return implies there is no hard reset in the near future for DC.
The ghost of Snyder still looms large over the franchise, and one of Zaslav’s comments suggests Snyder may get another chance to shepherd DC moving forward.
“We think that we can build a long-term, much stronger, sustainable growth business out of DC. And as part of that we’re going to focus on quality, we’re not going to release any film before it’s ready. We’re not going to release a film to make a quarter, the focus is going to be ‘how do we make these films in general as good as possible?’ But DC is something we think we could make better, and we’re focusing on it now.”
Is Zaslav comparing the ill-fated theatrical version of Justice League to Zack Snyder’s Justice League when he says: “as part of that we’re going to focus on quality, we’re not going to release any film before it’s ready.” The execs at WB were criticized for releasing Joss Whedon’s theatrical cut of Justice League to make a quarter earnings target. We all know how that went. So, in light of Zaslav’s comment, the return of Snyder is a possibility despite comments made by others that somehow suggest this means Snyder is not returning.
In addition, the continued presence of Affleck, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, and Ezra Miller makes it difficult for Warner Bros. Discovery to distance itself from Snyder. And there are plenty of online demands for the return of Henry Cavill as Superman as well. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been vocal about his desire for Cavill to return. And depending on the success of Black Adam, he might have the clout to influence that decision. Besides, it’s impossible to rule out a surprise cameo from Cavill in the film, unless fans get a headless Superman cameo as they did in Shazam!–a move that is likely to annoy fans even further.
The Flash has its own woes. Miller’s abusive behavior has almost thwarted Warner Bros. Discovery’s chance of rebooting the DC universe with a Flashpoint storyline. The continual pushback of the film’s release date is likely due to the star’s behavior and likely behind the decision to cast the Batfleck in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom rather than Keaton’s Batman. Originally, the events of Aquaman the Lost Kingdom were meant to happen after The Flash and therefore after a Flashpoint storyline that would erase the Batfleck from the DC universe with Keaton’s Bat emerging in his place.
There is also the question of where Matt Reeve’s The Batman fits in all this. Spinoff shows for The Penguin and a show about Gotham City’s Police Department are greenlit and they’re developing their own unrelated universe. With Momoa, Affleck, and others pushing forward with new DC projects, it seems unlikely that Zaslav will develop an interconnected universe with a new Wonder Woman, Superman, and other Justice League characters around Robert Pattison. Snyder’s influence still dominates, but more will become clear over the next few months to a year.
Zaslav and the team that shepherds the next ten years of the DC universe (whether that includes Snyder or not) certainly have a rough ride ahead of them as they try to untangle this mess.
