How Warner Bros. Can Save the DC Extended Universe

After the release of Justice League, the DC Extended Universe is perhaps in the most trouble it has ever been in since it's inception in 2013 with Man of Steel. Warner Bros.' latest superhero movie is an ensemble piece that finally brought DC Comics' most popular superhero team alive in live-action for the first time. So how did it also become the studio's first real failure - potentially not even making a profit? After two bleak movies by Zack Snyder, Warner Bros. brought in Joss Whedon to lighten the tone and create a great team dynamic. Sadly, this is was one of a few missteps.

Bringing in Whedon, who's responsible for the first two Avengers movies, ended up making Justice League prime for easy criticism. Mixing two distinct elements - a Marvel Studios-style lighthearted, quippy team dynamic, with the decidedly less fun DC Universe that had already been established - didn't work. This, combined with some of the DCEU's worst qualities (a simple plot that lacked any real impact, coupled with a poor villain), ended up with a movie that, well, wasn't very good. The good news is, it's not too late for Warner Bros. to save the DC Extended Universe by taking a few simple, if sometimes drastic steps.

End The Snyder-verse

Zack Snyder's vision of the DC Extended Universe has divided fans, to say the least. Providing audiences with a very different, darker take on heroes they know and love from the comics, the director gave himself a ridiculously tough job from the get-go. One thing's for sure: His storytelling is long-winded and convoluted. Warner Bros.' Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman made more sense than the theatrical cut, as important plot points were left out of the movie millions saw in theaters. This is evident in Justice League, too, resulting in fans creating a petition for a longer version of the film.

Warner Bros. mandated that the movie could be no longer than two hours in length, which made the final film disjointed and flawed. Steppenwolf was sloppy and shallow, and fans still didn't know or particular care about newer heroes Cyborg and Aquaman. Audiences were into the film for Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, and rightfully so as they've been fleshed out in previous movies. Thus, we understand their motives and history, leading to us actually caring about what happened to them. Supporting characters for Aquaman such as Willem Dafoe's Vulko were subject to cuts, with the majority of Cyborg's backstory also being left out, and the movie suffered because of it.

Superman's revival also suffered from scenes being left out, but in terms of continuity - which is incredibly important in a universe that shares a single narrative. At the end of Batman v Superman, dirt on Superman's coffin floats in the air, suggesting he's not dead after all. In Justice League however, it's revealed that he is really dead - which makes no sense at all. It's faults like this that spawn out of trimming a movie down so much, as it basically nullifies Snyder's method of storytelling.

If Warner Bros. intends to continue to produce shorter movies so they're more accessible to general audiences, and thus more likely to be profitable, then they need to relieve Snyder from the director's chair. Bringing in new directing talent that understands the overall vision for the DC Extended Universe, that can tell a hope-filled and inspiring story in a lesser amount of time, males the future of the universe immediately seem brighter.

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Self-Contained Stories

The DCEU's only hit movie, Wonder Woman, was largely standalone, but it still existed in the overall universe. The studio needs to follow up on this winning formula with more self-contained stories that properly flesh out the title character(s). Luckily, the DCEU's upcoming slate provides some great opportunities for this.

The Wonder Woman sequel will likely try to replicate the original's success by following a similar standalone format. Aquaman is now kind-of-established on-screen, so his movie doesn't necessarily need huge cameos to bring in a decent audience so long as the story is strong and compelling. Nightwing, currently in the works, should be a small and personal story that lets movie-goers into the psyche of Dick Grayson. Deathstroke would be a perfect opportunity for a character such as Batman to be involved without feeling forced. Warner Bros. needs to entrust in their characters, and the crew they employ to bring them to life in live-action, without having to rely on their bigger characters to bring any sort of financial success. Telling a great, unique story will take care of that.

Deathstroke, from Ben Affleck's August 2016 Justice League teaser

As for Flashpoint, well -- let's just hope it manages to be more Captain America: Winter Soldier than Justice League 2.

Ban Big Budgets?

Not every instalment of the DCEU needs to be a big budget blockbuster. Take the yet-to-be-confirmed Deathstroke movie, for example. Gareth Edwards, the director attached to the flick, managed to create a gripping story with mind-blowing, innovative action in The Raid, which had only a $1.1 million budget. Deathstroke shouldn't be facing off against a CGI villain, nor should he be exploring the vast DC Universe. Instead, the movie should be small and self-contained, building up a full picture of a compelling character with immense action sequences.

If Warner Bros. is worried about another Justice League-level bomb (The movie needs to make over $600 million to just break even), lowering budgets just makes sense. Even if it suffers another misstep, the loss would be minuscule and won't necessarily affect the DCEU's future slate - especially if the studio ensures its movies are smaller scale and tell their own story. As a side benefit, making use of smaller budgets could allow the studio to apportion budgets to more movies, thus expanding the universe in a safe and methodical way.

Don't Abandon Ship

The DC Extended Universe has put in the work to establish its characters and tell some pretty bold stories, so it'd be silly to waste the foundation it's built by completely abandoning it. Yes, we're pining for small budget movies that tell their own story, but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be ensemble movies in the future - they just need to have more focus.

The Justice League is now known by casual movie-goers, and comic book fans are hyped for their seemingly inevitable clash with the Legion of Doom, and Warner Bros. should absolutely capitalize on this. Marvel Studios has the formula down to a T: Create a series of self-contained stories, then bring the characters together naturally over time. That way, they don't have to include nonsensical cameos that feel forced, like The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg's Batman v Superman appearances.

The bottom line is, if the executives behind the DC Extended Universe can learn from their mistakes, then the DC Extended Universe still has plenty of life left in it. We're betting rumors of its demise are as exaggerated as you can get.

Now in theaters, Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon.