So, Justice League flopped. There’s no way to dance around this subject. The biggest issue was that DC was busy trying to play catch-up to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that they didn’t really study what made Kevin Feige and Disney’s brand of heroes such a global success. Since then, DC has seemingly learned from the error of its ways, by rightful focusing on a shared universe at the moment. This is the correct approach as it allows DC to tell more diverse stories with the rich characters that they have. One drawback of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a good portion of their films follows the same formula, which is usually light-hearted and comic affairs designed to build a larger world. Obviously, this business model has been a success, but it also restricts from directors experimenting with certain characters and focusing on a different path. Yes, Marvel has ventured out of the box, most notably The Eternals, but given the lackluster critical and box office returns then it would be shocking if that world is explored even more. Don’t be surprised if Deadpool ends up being a PG-13 feature going forward.
However, it would be foolish to think that another Justice League film would never come out. As I previously stated, DC has the right idea of not focusing on a shared universe. However, there’s nothing particularly wrong with coming back to Justice League, though that shouldn’t be happening any time soon. Henry Cavill seems to be done with Superman. There’s no way in hell that Ray Fisher is coming back as Cyborg, and the Ezra Miller situation is extremely complicated. The upcoming Flash film is already finished, but the legal troubles that the actor is going through may see Warner Brothers replace him for future movies. Heck, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the company did reshoots with a new actor playing Flash. That leaves Batman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman, with the latter’s future a bit murky following the reported Wonder Woman 3 feature. Of course, the character will continue, but there’s no official word on whether Gal Gadot will suit up as the Amazonian princess. The focus should be on building their brand of comic book heroes and then possibly exploring the option of doing a Justice League film in a span of five or ten years.
Who says that it has to be Flash, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg in the JL? The Justice League has changed several times in the comics, with notable additions include Green Lantern, Firestorm, Blue Beetle, Green Arrow, and Black Canary as some of the characters who have come together for the DC group. If Warner Brothers decides that their final destination is a Justice League feature then they can’t scramble around and make the same mistake they did last time. Of course, the world wants to see DC’s most popular heroes unite and fight together, but fans have made it clear that they want something of quality and substance. Release solo features of the heroes that will be in the rebooted Justice League film. Every story doesn’t have to connect, but the world does. There’s nothing wrong with Warner Brothers wanting to explore this avenue once again, but if executives opt to never make another Justice League film then that’s perfectly fine as well. Warner Brothers doesn’t NEED to do another Justice League. As I mentioned, there does need to be connection between movies first, which is why the Avengers saga works so well. Let Batman, Wonder Women, and Aquaman do their thing, though a cameo or two could work. Maybe the crime in Gotham City is too much to handle so Aquaman or Wonder Woman pop up? That would need some type of build since Robert Pattinson’s Batman hasn’t met the two DC heroes yet.
Either way, playing with the Warner Brothers collection of heroes is the best way to go. We don’t even have to ever see Batman link up with other names in the universe. Marvel has successfully built a brand off their shared universe, and DC can also carve a nice path with their brand of excellent superhero or villain features that doesn’t share the same world. Another Justice League will happen someday. It would be shocking if another didn’t come out in the next 30 years. Let’s just hope that Warner Brothers is smarter with their approach to the big superhero flick and manages to properly build up to it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but quality and substance is always going to win the battle at the end of the day.
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