The Rise and Fall of the DCEU: A Story of Consistency and Redemption
Exploring the reasons behind the failure of the DC Extended Universe and the steps being taken to address its lack of consistency.
The Hurdles of the DCEU
With a few months remaining until production begins on his new franchise starter, James Gunn is sharing why the initial DC Extended Universe failed. Beginning with 2013's Man of Steel, the DCEU was Warner Bros.' attempt to match the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though saw much more mixed reviews from critics and struggled to cement itself as a box office juggernaut, in spite of steadily gaining positive critical reception with the likes of Birds of Prey, The Suicide Squad and Blue Beetle. Gunn and Peter Safran were appointed the new CEOs of DC Studios in late 2022, with the intention to softly reboot the franchise into the new DC Universe, beginning with Superman: Legacy and the animated Creature Commandos.
Screenshot of James Gunn explaining on Threads why the DCEU failed
Just over a year after landing his new position, some fans took to Threads to question Gunn's approach to developing the DCU, in which he responded by explaining why the DCEU failed. His response, as seen above, finds the Suicide Squad and Peacemaker creative pointing towards the lack of creative consistency across the various DCEU projects as being the biggest thing holding the soon-to-be-concluded franchise back from being a success. Gunn also went on to clarify to the now-deleted commenter how he's approaching tying animated projects and video games into his DCU plan, noting that not all of them will be set within his universe, but be considered Elseworld stories.
Though some ardent fans remain passionate in their defense of the original DCEU, particularly the movies made by Zack Snyder, Gunn's note of a lack of internal consistency does largely ring true for the franchise. Whether it be how certain characters are depicted or even how full worlds are changed for different installments, notably a very different Atlantis between Justice League and Aquaman, the door always felt open for a filmmaker to retcon what came before to fit their vision of their project. With Gunn and Safran now leading the charge, however, the DCU can finally match the MCU's success.
One of the big reasons the former franchise lacked any kind of consistency was there being no executive figure to actually create a plan for how it would unfurl and connect for major crossover events. From its launch, the MCU had Kevin Feige overseeing development on all projects in order to lead up to such blockbuster events as the Avengers movies, ultimately leading to those movies' record-breaking releases.
Addressing the Lack of Consistency
Following some of their recent failures, Marvel underwent a massive creative overhaul, including swapping out showrunners and directors for Daredevil: Born Again. Gunn and Safran have already confirmed having an 8-10 year plan for their franchise that will be broken up into two major chapters, and even as the former will be launching the DCU himself with Superman: Legacy, he's closely working with other creatives for the other projects, including Andy Muschietti's The Brave and the Bold and James Mangold's Swamp Thing.
Much like Feige did with such filmmakers as Gunn on the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and Ryan Coogler for the Black Panther movies, this approach better allows for Muschietti, Mangold and others to find the perfect middle ground between their visions for their projects and Gunn's overall plan for the franchise. While it remains unclear if it will ultimately pay off, it at least remains a step in the right direction to avoid the DCEU's failures.
A Glimpse of Hope
Gunn and Safran have set out to address the lack of creative consistency across the various DCEU projects, aiming to match the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With a clear 8-10 year plan in place, broken up into two major chapters, and a collaborative approach with other creatives, the duo aims to lead the DCU into a new era of success. Their dedication to creating a more consistent and cohesive universe while allowing room for individual creative visions signals a promising shift in the right direction for the DC Universe.
