You would think that with all of the troubles that the beleaguered DCEU has had over the past five years, Warner Bros would be looking to wind down the franchise’s production schedule: cut back, let it rest, refresh the brand, then bring it back when demand invariably peaks again. It’s what they did after the disastrous Batman & Robin pretty much killed the big screen popularity of those characters. It’s why we still haven’t had a DCEU Green Lantern, what with the acrid taste of the 2010 movie still gurgling in the back of our throats.
It’s basic brand control and it happens all the time. And, what’s more, it works. Five years down the line, ten years down the line, we’ll see these characters again, only in a different (and hopefully better) form.
But Warner Bros isn’t taking the hint at the moment concerning their ill-fated cinematic universe that nobody except the smallest and most toxic fans seemed to have embraced wholeheartedly. They’re still going full steam ahead, with a release slate already partially filled and a new head of their film division. They’re going to make this thing work, come Hell or high water they will/
But one needs to ask if it’s really worth the effort that they’re putting into this project. Most accounts claim that Justice League actually lost Warner Bros $150 million with its blink-and-you’ll-miss-it release last November. Aquaman — the most maligned, least interesting and worst cast hero of the DCEU roster — can’t possibly hope to turn a profit when people weren’t willing to come out and see him fight alongside Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Suicide Squad, for my money the worst movie in the franchise by far, is still getting a series of sequels and spinoffs, The Batman is moving forward without a script at the moment and the whole thing seems primed to reboot with the upcoming Flashpoint.
There is one thin ray of hope, however, and that’s the fact that the only good movie to come out of the franchise thus far is still moving ahead with its sequel. Wonder Woman 2, although disparagingly reported and speculated on even while the first movie was still in theaters, is set to start filming, and soon. DC is reporting that the film will start principle photography this summer in the UK, pushing ahead for a presumed 2019 release.
Although the movie certainly had its issues — including a non-factor third act and a lackluster antagonist — it was a revelation in a year plagued by sexual harassment and female disenfranchisement. It was nearly as good as the first Captain America and was a worthy big-screen debut for the most iconic woman in the genre. Patty Jenkins proved to be an exceptional filmmaker and Gal Gadot one of the greatest acting finds of the last few years.
I am, of course, concerned about the direction that the new film will take. The initial pitches being thrown around by DC executives last year were less than encouraging, and the first movie thrived because those same executives — who were still reeling from the disastrous reception of Batman v Superman and increasingly absorbed in the already infamously protracted Justice League post-production — largely ignored it, letting Ms. Jenkins and her talented crew make the movie that they wanted to make exactly how they wanted to make it. Now that it has proven itself as a concept, they will undoubtedly take a more direct (and historically disastrous) approach to its sequel, invariably to its detriment.
I am incredibly hopeful, though, Warner Bros meddling and all. The character deserves better than she has until recently been given. Jenkins and Gadot has proven itself to be a perfect pairing with the property. And, of course, the world could always use a few more kickass women.
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