Editorial: You kind of have to feel a little bad for director Zack Snyder right now because he may have created a general audience perception problem when it comes to DC Films and the DC Extended Universe after his first two movies, MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. Sure they're both cash-cows but he may have went too dark and too serious which could have caused many in the general audience to think twice about the DCEU if its other movies are going to be similar.
All debate aside about who is better between Marvel and DC, Marvel Studios films are lighter with a mix of humor and fun. DC Films, so far, have been dark, brooding, with hardly any humor and at times a bit too scary for younger kids. All Marvel Studios and DC Films have been PG-13 to this point, but the tone of one is definitely dictated by Disney's need to embrace a more family-friendly experience.
You can't really blame Snyder too much for trying something tonally different than Marvel Studios because it gives new flavor to the super hero genre for those who not only are DC Comics fans but want a more serious super hero movie. Unfortunately, after both MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN V. SUPERMAN and box office numbers set aside, the general audience may not be in agreement when it comes to such a drastic opposite in tone.
This is where a problem may lie because MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN V. SUPERMAN have set a trend and perhaps a feeling toward all of their future and upcoming film projects no matter how hard Warner and DC try to spin by saying their directors have the ability to make each of the films their own. This, in theory, should create a diverse feel to all of the DCEU movies on its slate. But there's also a problem with this concept as having their films be, look and feel too diverse from each other .
The general audience could get a feeling that all the DC movies don't coexist in the same movie universe. Sure the DC fanatics will know otherwise but the general audience is much bigger and equally, if not more, important due to their larger box office potential. (And please don't read that as the hardcore fans are not important because they are for multiple return viewings more so than the general audience.)
Herein lies the perception problem Warner Bros. and DC Films are facing because if they stick their course then the darker nature of these movies might lead into becoming a turnoff for some and especially for kids who want to see their favorite super heroes on the big screen. If they haven't already been lost after Snyder's two films in this universe. Therefore, this could cause SUICIDE SQUAD, WONDER WOMAN and even JUSTICE LEAGUE box office sales to suffer over the long term as moviegoers possibly get turned off.
Sure, there are a lot of "What If?" factors at play here, but this brings us to a possible solution which is needed badly and should have been resolved while first building the plans for the DCEU. Warner Bros. needs to bring in a storytelling guru who can oversee the all of the stories residing in the DCEU.
What's done is done now that MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN V. SUPERMAN have been released but there's always time to tweak things as it seems is happening now that SUICIDE SQUAD is reportedly gone into reshoots to make it more fun and funny. The DCEU has not derailed.
This is why Warner Bros. needs a DCEU story "Overlord," no different than how Marvel Studios has Kevin Feige in place as a "Cinematic Editor-in-Chief" role. A person who can tell someone like Snyder or any of the other DCEU movie directors to ease up on one thing and add some of another. And to ensure there is some form of a consistent and cohesive tone across the board so the general audience gets the sense that it is one big movie universe.
There's no need for anyone to want Marvel or Fox or Warner Bros. to fail with any of their super hero movies because a bad movie only hurts the genre. And hurting the genre could escalate the business into a quicker end of this Golden Age of Super Hero Movies that fans are loving every minute of.
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