Marvel is on a hot streak. Every single film they release cleans up at the box office, some breaking records that have yet to be topped. Marvel knows what it does and does it well.
Then there is DC over at Warner Bros. While DC properties have created a few hits (The Dark Knight, anyone?) they haven’t changed the cinematic landscape the way The Avengers or Iron Man or other MCU movies have. But that doesn’t mean WB won’t stop trying.
Guillermo del Toro is currently attached to direct Justice League Dark, which would star John Constantine, Swamp Thing and other comic book icons. But as del Toro told cinefilos, Warner Brothers is looking beyond just Batman, Superman and Justice League Dark.
“We’re still on (Justice League Dark), writing, and hopefully it will happen but there are no developments that are new. We’re still at Warner Bros., they are making plans for the entire DC universe. All the superheroes, all the mythologies, and part of that is Justice League Dark. They’re planning on TV, movies, and all the media, so we have to fit into that plan.”
This isn’t surprising news. Ever since Marvel started cobbling all their characters and stories together, you could tell Warner Bros was anxious to do the same. However, this all happened in the middle of Christopher Nolan’s terrific Dark Knight run. As well, Marvel blew up while WB only had Batman. This was before Man Of Steel and before WB’s ill-fated attempt at Green Lantern. So it’s not like the studio could have thrown together a bunch of exciting hit properties, they didn’t have any. They had Batman and…Batman.
But now they are thinking longterm, they are laying down the foundation for something big. While it would be fun to see DC characters other than Bats and Supes, you have to wonder if this is the right approach. It’s highly unlikely that the DC films will be as successful as Marvel’s and many people will say that DC is just trying to ape the most successful guy in the room. And they are, there is no denying that. The shadow of Marvel will hang over all of this. It seems like WB is setting itself up for a lot of comparisons that’ll only hurt them.
But it’s happening. Del Toro says so and if the latest casting rumors for Batman vs. Superman are to be trusted, things are moving forward at a rapid rate. As they have for decades in the world of print, DC is stepping to Marvel and throwing down the gauntlet.
I have an idea, folks. Let’s stop all the bickering and bring every comic book character together for the ultimate comic book film. Batman co-starring Iron Man co-starring Archie co-starring Judge Dredd co-starring Garfield! I think we could just stop making movies after that.