The Corsair
How To Save the DC Cinematic Universe
How To Save the DC Cinematic Universe
Filmmaker James Gunn is sounding off about the very shaky future of the DC cinematic universe. As well he should. He’s kind of fucked the whole shit up. Whatever box office the DCU has gained from audiences post-COVID wanting, desperately, to be back in the setting of the theater, the latest productions have been, by all counts, pretty shitty enterprises. Black Adam received a very generous 39% on Rotten Tomatoes. Aquaman can only be properly construed under the category of goofy. And Wonder Woman appears to be the (latest) franchise that imploded.
What the heck happened?
DC lost ground. And this is all an astonishing turn of affairs, considering that DC had quite a lead over Marvel at the outset of the comic book movies race. Batman — even in its stupidest, Joel Schumacher incarnations — has always been something of a cinematic force. But it was not until Chris Nolan’s dark and alienating adaptation of The Bat (as well as Todd Phillips’s Joker) that things elevated to the stuff of franchise, to cinematic works of art that brought critical and financial success driven by die-hard fans and word-of-mouth. But Batman, to be sure, is not the totality of the DCU.
The Marvel cinematic universe, by contrast, is a constellation of stars — Black Panther, Iron Man, Captain America — with their own stellar atmospheres. John Favreau, a hefty, very smart graduate of Bronx Science and Queens College, created a lynchpin of the MCU with recovering alcoholic Robert Downey, Jr. A “conch” like Bob Iger appears to intuitively understand this; a Joel Schumacher or a George Clooney type would most certainly not. While the Henry Cavill, Gal Gadots and The Rocks of the world moved in popular circles, the Todd Phillipses and Chris Nolan’s were broody and smart, in the process of becoming what they are at present — moody artistic intellectuals that understand the core motivations of the role of superheroes in our collective imagination.
A true comic book fan, Morris Raskin of The Stuyvesant (High School) Spectator, expressed wisdom beyond his years back in 2018 when he wrote:
DC took advantage of their success in 2013 and started a project called the DC Extended Universe, or the DCEU, attempting to copy the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which had already pumped out critical and box office smashes such as “The Avengers” (2012). The first DCEU movie to arrive, “Man of Steel” (2013), was met with indifferent critical reception. Aside from starring Henry Cavill as Superman, the film was simply mediocre and forgettable. Of course, this wasn’t enough to stop DC, who went right ahead and made their next movie.
Raskin, clearly, is of “the tribe.” And if you think it odd that I quote from a four year old high school newspaper article, you simply don’t understand the comic book cinematic universe dynamics. The kid gets it absolutely right, largely because comic book movies are about capturing (or re-capturing) the childhood imagination in a very intense way, particular to the tribe of “geek.” Further, some of the greatest comic book movies are not only set in high school —think: Sam Raimi’s Spider Man — but star an alienated, broody and brilliant young hero-in-the-making. Joel Schumacher — bless his clueless heart — was probably too busy dating cheerleaders in secondary school. And Gal Gadot — bless her preternaturally attractive self — was Miss Israel at the age of 18.
If I had an answer to the questions that Gunn is presently seeking to answer, I would be at the studio already making a killing. I do not. But I know a few fundamentals about the tribe of “geek” that he might want to note. Geeks can smell inauthenticity. Jason Momoa — bless his godlike, Samoan physique — has never, ever been of the tribe. Momoa has never questioned the nature of the cruelty of the Universe in the darkness of his high school virginal soul. He never cherished the sibylline beauty of the Latin language. And thus — mirabile dictu, in my judgement — he is fundamentally unqualified to be Aquaman, the bastard son of son of lighthouse keeper Tom Curry and outcast Atlanna. Quod Erat Demonstrandum.
So — free advice to James Gunn: Stop Schumachering. Stop peopling your movies with bright, sunny, well-adjusted superstars. They ring false in the comic book universe. Those types, quite frankly, are wholly incapable of understanding the complex motivations of a Zatanna Zatara, daughter of the magician Giovanni Zatara and Sindella of the mystical Homo Magi race. And if you, dear reader, didn’t catch that last reference, then you, too, are probably to well-adjusted and bright and happy to people the DC cinematic universe.
Best,
Ron
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