"The universe isnt as connected as we thought it was going to be five years ago," Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published Wednesday. "Youre seeing much more focus on individual experiences around individual characters. Thats not to say we wont at some point come back to that notion of a more connected universe. But it feels like thats the right strategy for us right now."
Warner Bros.' DC movie universe, once known as the DC Extended Universe, began with "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "Suicide Squad" in 2016. Both movies performed well at the box office, but were torn apart by film critics (both have 27% Rotten Tomatoes critic scores).
The critical and financial failure of "Justice League" was the final nail in the DCEU's coffin. Meant to be DC's answer to Marvel's "Avengers," the 2017 movie grossed just $229 million total in the US, less than last year's "Avengers: Infinity War" did in its first weekend.
The silver lining for DC was "Wonder Woman," 2017's blockbuster that was a hit with both audiences and critics. The movie was largely removed from the larger universe, telling more of a standalone story than "Batman v Superman" and "Suicide Squad." It set a precedent for what "Aquaman" could accomplish, and therefore the DC franchise.
How a new strategy will benefit DCs movie universe
Both "Aquaman" and "Wonder Woman" were disconnected from the shared movie universe Warner Bros. built that culminated in "Justice League." They're also the best-reviewed movies within the franchise, and were major hits at the box office.
A "Wonder Woman" sequel, "Wonder Woman 1984," will once again be set in the past, this time during the Cold War as opposed to World War I. It's coming to theaters next June after being pushed back from this November. The first movie also hit theaters in June, and Warner Bros. obviously wants to take advantage of the summer release date.
Upcoming movies will try to capture the magic of "Wonder Woman" and "Aquaman."
"Shazam!," about a young boy who is granted magical powers and can turn into a superhero by uttering the title phrase, drops in April. An origin story about Batman's greatest nemesis, "Joker," starring Joaquin Phoenix as the famous villain, comes to theaters in October. And a "Birds of Prey" movie will be released next February, with Margot Robbie reprising her "Suicide Squad" role of Harley Quinn.
"What Patty Jenkins did on 'Wonder Woman' illustrated to us what you could do with these characters who are not Batman and Superman," Tsujihara told the Times. "Obviously, we want to get those two in the right place, and we want strong movies around Batman and Superman. But 'Aquaman' is a perfect example of what we can do. Theyre each unique and the tones different in each movie."
"Shazam!" is a coming-of-age movie, "Joker" will be a crime movie, and Robbie has said that "Birds of Prey" is "not a very serious movie" its full title is "Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)."
The DC universe got off to a rough start, but its future looks bright.
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