Here at Dark Knight News, we love Batman and DC Comics first and foremost above all comic book characters, not to mention fictional characters as a whole. That being said, we can always appreciate what’s happening with other characters and universes without making a war of it. I for one, love what Marvel has done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It achieved something few thought possible and is the shining example of how to build a web of connected films.
Seeing the success that their business rivals were having, Warner Bros. and DC Comics decided to try the same thing with their wealth of characters. Unfortunately, apart from Wonder Woman, critics and audiences just weren’t feeling the DCEU, or whatever it’s called (seriously, how do we not have an official name yet?)
Whether you love or hate Marvel Comics (again, not trying to start a war), there’s no arguing that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige knows what he’s doing. He figured out the perfect formula to making a cinematic universe fun, entertaining and successful.
Hoping to find their own Kevin Feige, WB put Walter Hamada in charge of DC Films, the producer behind the highly successful IT and The Conjuring. In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Feige was asked about the recent shakeup at DC Films and if he had any advice. While he comes off as humble and backed away from “giving advice”, he did mention Richard Donner’s Superman as an example that all comic book films should follow.
Screen Rant: “Walter Hamada has just taken over DC Films and trying to get it back on track. Not out of competition or anything else, just out of a word of advice of how he would be able to help get that cinematic universe back on track. What would your word of advice be to him?”
Kevin Feige: “I always hesitate to come off as a person who is bestowing advice on people. It’s not really what I do. What I do know is, they’re great characters.”
Screen Rant: “They are.”
Kevin Feige: “They’re great characters, they’re good comics, they’ve got great history. I’m not shy about saying, Richard Donner’s Superman I still think is the paradigm by which we all still should follow. It’s all there.”
In a way, Feige’s comments sort of echo some things we’ve been saying here at DKN the past few months. Richard Donner’s Superman wasn’t focused on world building or setting up for the future, it was concerned with making the best Superman film possible. The same can be said with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. And while the Marvel films do have a through point that connects them all, each film is focused on making the best film for that character and the team up films take care of themselves, since we already care about that world and the characters.
It felt like DC was so focused on getting us a Justice League film that everything else took a back seat to world build as fast as possible. This could partially explain why Wonder Woman was so successful. Besides Man of Steel, it’s the only DCEU film to really focus on the character and tell us a Wonder Woman story.
With Aquaman, Shazam!, and Wonder Woman 1984 in production, and Matt Reeves’ solo Batman film in the horizon (however close or far that horizon might be), it seems like DC is heading back to making great films about their characters. Let the team up films take care of themselves once people care about this world and these characters.
Also, it just feels appropriate that to fix DC Films that they look at Superman as a beacon of hope to follow.
What do you think? Do you agree with Kevin Feige’s and DC’s supposed new direction? Or did you prefer the Snyder-era of the DCEU (or whatever it’s called?)