Can the New DCU Salvage the Disaster of DC’s Modern Movies?

The last few months have produced a mix of new updates from the Warner Bros., James Gunn-led, DC Universe. From the ashes of the DCEU – a group of movies that will be studied for generations in terms of how you screw up the superhero movie at the height of the superhero boom in Hollywood– the DCU is trying a few new takes on classic heroes that, paradoxically, adhere more to their comic book origins than Zach Snyder’s-skim-reading-one-Batman-comic approach. So, what can we expect for the future of DC heroes? Let’s take a look at some of the movies and characters we’ve got on the way!

Superman: Legacy

While naming the first movie of a new franchise Legacy seems kind of weird, I have nothing but praise for what we have seen from James Gunn’s attempt to get us onside with Superman. The trailer is full of classic Silver Age touches: Krypto the superdog, a giant kaiju, and a wealth of supporting heroes like Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner (he finally gets to play a Green Lantern – but the monkey’s paw curled when they put him in that wig to do it), and Mr Terrific’s big screen debut after his tryout on Arrow. As for the main three, all I can say is that David Corenswet and Rachel Broshanan look the part as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, and, after his standout performance in Nosferatu, I can’t wait for Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Overall, Gunn seems to be going for a more relatable, more human Superman, something that was sorely lacking in Snyder’s films. Opening the trailer with Supes at his lowest, bloodiest ebb, creates stakes as well as introducing Krypto. Seriously, what’s more humanising than a superhero with an emotional support animal?

The Batman 2

Warner Bros didn’t see The Penguin’s success coming. How can you reboot an entire cinematic universe and leave out a version of Batman where even the most joked about main villain is one of the scariest men on television? There are a lot of rumours about the insane news that the sequel to The Batman has been delayed until 2027 (though director Matt Reeves says they could start filming later this year): Some think Gunn and co. are figuring out whether Battinson should be their Batman. My opinion: leave it the hell alone. The hard-boiled tone of The Batman, and the bloodier-by-the-episode Penguin will be a horrible fit for the rest of the Justice League. There’s a reason that the Batman of the main comics titles, and the Detective stories, feel different tonally to his role in the Justice League comics. That disconnect won’t fly onscreen. Get your own Batman, Gunn, and enjoy the extra revenue Reeves crime saga brings in.

Ugh, Lobo

I hate Lobo as a character – I think he’s dumb and cringy and flat. I got into the wider DC universe a lot later than most, but I think even if I read the intergalactic bounty hunter when I was young enough not to know better I would still have smelt a rat. So, it should come as no surprise that I greeted the news that Jason Momoa is trading in his Aquaman costume for a cigar, leather waistcoat, and, yeah, a pretty cool bike, to appear as Lobo in the upcoming Supergirl movie, with a load groan. This might be the most obviously boring casting decision since Christoph Waltz as Bloefeld. That said, it should be an easy job for Momoa since he already played Aquaman as a giant man-child with stupid early noughties verbal ticks and insufferable and unearned confidence, He doesn’t need to change a thing.

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By Kevin Boyle

(header image via Moviefone)