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“Here’s Why D.C. Will Never Command the Same Respect As Marvel”

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Shortly after the release of Man of Steel in 2013, it’s sequel Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was quickly announced at that year’s Comic-Con. Finally, people were going to get the Batman/Superman film that had been so endlessly rumored and shot down since the early 2000s. Hell, even the Will Smith-led I Am Legend (2007) was in on the joke. Sure, the sequel would directly follow a Superman film many people were on the fence with, but with a hulky Ben Affleck filling Christian Bale’s shoes as the Caped Crusader and some promising trailers showcasing director Zack Snyder’s visual talent, there was perhaps some genuine cause for excitement.

In spite of some cautious optimism, the long-awaited Batman v. Superman, or perhaps this particular incarnation, was exactly how many feared. Sure Snyder’s particular visual style was well on display, for better or for worse, but most critics and audience members found the resulting film overlong, overly grim and above all a complete waste of talent of two legendary American figures. The Rotten Tomatoes score currently stands at 29%, and while the film has grossed over $780 million worldwide, it needs to hit $1 billion just to break even. Just for some perspective, Deadpool has grossed over $753 million after around eight weeks in theaters, but with only around 23% of the production budget.

If Man of Steel was merely the prologue to the D.C. Extended Universe, then Batman v. Superman was Chapter One, and boy, has the read been dreadful thus far. With the upcoming Suicide Squad helping to close out the summer box office, much pressure rests on D.C.’s shoulders to firmly solidify their position as worthy competitors to the mammoth media franchise Marvel. Look, somehow and some way, D.C. will fill seats much like Marvel, but a perhaps overlooked portion of the battle is over respect, and from where we sit now, the damage has been done and it’ll be very difficult for D.C. to pull themselves out of their own hole.

Before I begin, I want to specifically state that I am intentionally leaving television out of this conversation and only focusing on the films. Marvel has had much success with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Daredevil and Jessica Jones, but D.C. has equally reaped the benefits in putting its properties on the small screen. Between the popularity of shows like Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl, it’s safe to assume that the battle for respect on television is squarely even.

Now, when concerning respect, the temptation is to point the finger at properties like Green Lantern and Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin. All Green Lantern was good for was a joke or two for Ryan Reynolds to mockingly deliver in Deadpool, and aside for every aspect of Batman & Robin that makes us cackle in rapturous glee, the only actual good it provided was a Grammy for The Smashing Pumpkins. But, let’s not forget that Marvel has had its fair share of follies. Howard the Duck, Ghost Rider and all three Fantastic Four ventures are enough to ensure not even the most diehard Marvel fanatic can truly claim superiority.

Critical and audience approval, however, is only half of the equation when it comes to respect. Obviously a film has to make a profit, or at least do well enough to achieve appreciation from some, especially those on the business side of the industry. In the modern era of superhero films, Marvel has had a few flops – The Punisher, Elektra and 2015’s Fantastic Four – whereas others have merely stumbled and then likely recouped their losses in home video and on-demand sales. However, when D.C. films have fallen, they’ve fallen hard. The returns on Superman Returns were less than satisfying, Watchmen and Green Lantern both bombed and both Catwoman and Jonah Hex couldn’t even be bothered to match, much less surpass their respective production budgets. So say what you want about 2005’s Fantastic Four and Ghost Rider; as horrible as they were, at least they made enough money to get a sequel green-lit – even if the budget of the latter was virtually halved for Spirit of Vengeance.

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But enough with the past; let’s see what these two have to be excited about in the near and not-to-distant future. Everything seems to be all smiles for Marvel with fan favorites Captain America, Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy returning later this and next year. Additionally, with Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular Doctor Strange, Fruitvale Station and Creed’s Ryan Coogler directing the stand-alone Black Panther film and Spider-Man returning to Marvel’s hands for another reboot in 2017, there is little to no reason for negativity ahead of Infinity War.

Yes, maybe even D.C. can share in the excitement. Some considered Gal Gadot’s portrayal of Wonder Woman one of the lone bright spots in Batman v. Superman, which will only help bolster interest for the stand-alone film she has coming out next year. Additionally, 2018 will feature a film for The Flash, which will be helped by the popularity of the CW television series of the same name, as well as Aquaman, which boasts the star potential of James Wan at the helm and Jason Momoa as the titular hero. In spite of the hope some may hold, negativity still looms on the horizon, and part of it exists in some recent rumors regarding the upcoming Suicide Squad.

Look, re-shoots are incredibly common, but the recent claims about Suicide Squad’s re-shoots are particularly curious. Jai Courtney, who plays Boomerang in the film, recently denied rumors that the intent of the re-shoots was to make the film funnier, but rather to add more to the action set pieces. He said that the film had plenty of humorous moments already, in spite of claims that one recent trailer featured every joke to be found in the film. Director David Ayer has recently echoed the same sentiments. And now, a new rumor claims that these re-shoots will last three weeks, which sounds a little extreme for a film that should have been firmly in the post-production phase a while ago.

The timing of these rumors couldn’t be worse, right off the heels of Batman v. Superman’s premiere. With many criticizing the overly serious tone of Snyder’s film, these rumors that the Suicide Squad filmmakers are scrambling to make the film funnier are especially damning. Take a look at any of Marvel’s films and you’ll see they all follow a strict formula of strong leads, a bevy of one-liners at their disposal, impressive special effects and excitingly choreographed fight scenes. Their films may sometimes deal with heady subject matter like surveillance and self-governance, but in a way, such a religious adherence to a formula of not taking oneself too seriously suggests a self-reflexive style of filmmaking that allows audiences to take them seriously.

In other words, Marvel knows how to properly make a ‘serious-minded’ superhero film. If these reports about Suicide Squad are deemed true, then D.C. is already in damage control just three films into their Extended Universe. Hopefully the potentially added humor does change the complexion of Suicide Squad, as well as D.C.’s future stand-alone films, but if the humor falls flat, it will allow the darker aesthetics to creep to the forefront of public consciousness, thereby creating a perception about the tone of D.C.’s films that most will find negative. Additionally, with Zack Snyder attached to direct the two Justice League films, the anchors of the Extended Universe much Marvel’s Avengers films, that sort of reputation will continue to persist.

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In fact, Snyder is the primary reason why D.C. and its Extended Universe will never be treated with the same respect as Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. His involvement with D.C.’s plans was questionable from the start, and his complete filmography tells you why. His first film, a remake of George A. Romero’s horror classic Dawn of the Dead, was a critical and financial success. Though much of the success could be attributed to James Gunn’s script, there’s no doubt that Snyder’s steady hand suggested a potentially promising future in filmmaking.

In terms of his style, however, Dawn of the Dead wasn’t a very Snyder-like film. All of the basic tenets of his particular vision – slow motion and heavily stylized action sequences – began with his next directorial feature, the graphic novel adaptation of 300. While the film wasn’t as critically successful as Dawn of the Dead, 300’s worldwide box office more than quadrupled Dawn’s. But while it may have seemed Snyder had cemented his place as a bankable popular director, the three films he would direct in between 300 and Man of Steel Watchmen, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole and Sucker Punch – all fell flat. Not only did they bomb, each was critically received worse than the last. So after Sucker Punch, a Snyder film is no longer a guaranteed profit, but is almost guaranteed to draw strong critical reactions in the negative direction.

And yet, Warner Brothers thought it wise to give Snyder the job for Man of Steel, the film that would kick start their Extended Universe. Their thought process must have been that Superman is a profitable enough figure of popular culture that, combined with Snyder’s visual talents, Man of Steel would be a bright starting point for their future plans. But wait a minute; the last Superman film, Superman Returns – directed by Bryan Singer, another usually profitable filmmaker – only pulled in a little over $391 million worldwide off of a $270 million production budget. Nothing was actually a guarantee, but thankfully, for their sake, Man of Steel pulled in a little over $668 million on a slightly smaller budget.

Warner Brothers got what they were asking for critically, however. Dark tones have been a strong part of some of Snyder’s films, and some even praised Watchmen and Legend of the Guardians for it, but the grim atmosphere of Man of Steel polarized opinion. By the time Batman v. Superman arrived, it had become abundantly clear that Snyder hadn’t learned from his mistakes, and was perhaps going to stubbornly create the film in his vision. Now, many fans have reacted in an understandably extreme fashion.

As you are likely aware, a Change petition was started to boot Snyder from the upcoming Justice League films, and after around three weeks has garnered nearly 16,000 signatures as of writing this. If there is even the slightest concern about the future and reputation of D.C.’s Extended Universe, the fans’ collective voice will be heard and Snyder will be summarily removed, but here’s the problem with that hope. If Warner Brothers thought it reasonable enough to hire a director that had lost credibility with critics and hadn’t made a profitable feature in six years, it seems unlikely that he would be released if his first two movies in this Extended Universe were the cash cows Warner had expected them to be.

As long as Snyder remains attached to the Justice League films, D.C.’s Extended Universe will never achieve the same level of respect as Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. Additionally, as long as he will direct the Justice League films, we’re going to potentially get worse versions of the same thing we’ve been getting since Man of Steel. Until D.C. is rid of the Zack Snyder stink, the only plausible way any progress will be made is if the people just stop seeing their films. Don’t go see Suicide Squad. Don’t go see Wonder Woman. Don’t go see Justice League. If you do, you’ll get exactly what you pay for.

 

Author’s Note: Conversely, if you feel there’s nothing wrong with the direction D.C. is going in with Zack Snyder, there’s a counter-petition that you can support here.

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