This Might Explain The Strategy DC’s Extended Universe Is Going For
And it’s in this title already.
With the recent announcements of DC Comics and Warner Bros. in their FanDome event, I just had a eureka moment! Why is it called “extended universe” unlike its counterpart which uses “cinematic”? At first, I thought maybe it was DC’s way of smugly saying “wE aRe nOt dOinG wHat mArveL iS dOiNg WitH MCU.” Maybe the word choice is intentional — they will not be contained in just cinema, not in just one universe.
The Marvel franchise has excellently created a shared universe. All 23 movies, spanning over a decade, are all interconnected. It was the first time this kind of cinematic approach has ever been done. Unfortunately, DC was late to the party. And when Warner Brothers started doing it with Man of Steel (2013) and down to its last installment so far, Birds of Prey last February, it has always received mixed reviews from both critics and audience. Not only there were some movies tagged as a flop, but they are also not as seamless as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But maybe that was the point? Warner Brothers and DC’s take on the competition is a MULTIVERSE — one that is supposed to have varying alternate realities, with not one universe claiming to be the objective and true reality.
DC extends its universe not just by relying on one medium that is cinema but by incorporating TV shows, web series, and animated movies as well (maybe comics soon). And even in the cinema continuum, not every movie belongs in the same universe.
The recently released smash hit Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, which is currently rated 100% in Rotten Tomatoes and 8/10 in IGN, triggered this epiphany. In that animated movie, traumatizing events impacted the Justice League, so much so that you’d wish to rewind time.
*Warning: For non-hardcore DC fans, spoiler ahead after the trailer clip. You can skip the next paragraph.*
And they did! The situation became extremely upsetting, they eventually had to do a reboot for everything, which is not uncommon in both DC and Marvel comics anyway. (For non-hardcore DC fans, you can Google “DC Flashpoint Paradox”).
And even in the Arrowverse, the shared universe of different television series aired by The CW, they have already started the merging of different realities. This became apparent when Grant Gustin’s Flash meets Ezra Miller’s hero speedster. So characters will start acknowledging parallel universes, one on TV and one on the big screen.
This multiverse of DCEU is also not just happening on a “present” timeline. Reports confirmed Michael Keaton (Batman, 1989 & 1992) will be joining the DCEU! So different Batmen from different realities AND different timelines will most likely emerge. That might explain Pattinson and Afleck’s Caped Crusaders, and even Leto and Phoenix’s Clown Princes of Crime coexisting.
But didn’t executives say that Joker (2019) is going to be a standalone film? Well, the unprecedented critical acclaim it got might have changed their opinion. But who said all characters in a multiverse should directly interact? I think there’s a certain appeal when other DCEU movie characters can reference a different Joker from a different Earth (who won an Academy Award). Isn’t that funny?
And of course, the shocking event of 2020 (other than the pandemic), the confirmation of rumors about a Justice League #SnyderCut. I am not going to delve into the politics and artistic differences of people. But think of it this way: It’s the perfect fan service! This is DCEU telling the audience, “There are two ways this story could have played out, choose your reality.”
And I am not sure if this is damage control for the aptly titled catastrophe that Suicide Squad (2016) was, and the underwhelming performance of Justice League (I still loved that movie but still, come on, it could and should have done better!), but, naturally, part of this multiverse is a grim alternate reality that doesn’t bode well with people, because, again, not all universes are ideal.
So maybe instead of Warner Bros. saying “we made a mistake by rushing into things,” they can reason out that these bad movies were intentional. So this multiverse approach is a sneaky and strategic way to explore artistic liberties but still have a valid excuse when things go wrong. (X-Men DOTFP used this scheme as well)
So there. Yeah, yeah, conspiracy theory. Well, duh, it’s fiction. At least it’s not a make-believe alternate narrative of politics and history some people subscribe to.
But hey, if you read this, we’re all fans. Don’t we just want the DCEU to succeed?
