Saving the DC Movie/TV Universe in 6 Easy Steps
I’m worried about you. You control the film/TV destinies of some pretty iconic superheroes and I have to be honest…you’re on the verge of screwing them up for quite a long time. Luckily, I am not above offering unsolicited advice. Here is how you can make it better:
Stop acting like you can’t link your TV properties and your Film properties. It’s ok for one to acknowledge the other and vice versa.
TV Flash=Barry Allen…Movie Flash=Wally West. It’s really not that hard, guys. You know it’s the right thing to do. Even Arrow star Stephen Amell was critical of your announcing a movie Flash before your TV Flash premiered. The best way to deflect the criticism is to make sure the two Flashes are completely different characters.
Gotham is your past. Young Bruce Wayne…emerging villains…Kal-El hasn’t even landed yet…Feel free to reference things like the Justice Society and such for world building if you’d like. Using Gotham to build the pre-superhero DCU will also help the show if they don’t have to stay trapped within the Batman mythos.
Arrow/The Flash bridges the gap between Gotham and the movies. Still no Superman but throw in some allusions to a Dark vigilante in Gotham City. Batman doesn’t have to EVER show up on TV, but it won’t kill anyone to tip the cap to Gotham’s guardian and his early days of street level heroism. Oliver Queen still in the early days of being Green Arrow. Barry Allen coming into his own as a superhero. Just keep reminding yourself that these shows are still about the early days of the DCU. Remember Step #2? How about a Flash TV episode introducing a young Wally West? Develop him right and he can even be Kid Flash on the show!
Beginning with the World’s Finest movie, let me get to this right off the bat (pun intended)…Throw out that stupid slate of movies you came up. The dictionary definition of haphazard has your picture next to it. It was like you just said we need a female hero, a black hero, and…oh, what the hell, throw in Aquaman because everyone knows his name. Seriously, the problem with all of these studios creating “Shared Universe” franchises is that they aren’t putting any thought into story at all before announcing these film slates. They are figuring it out as they go along with too many cooks in the kitchen. It is the very definition of putting the cart before the horse.
Figure out how to make an EPICALLY GREAT Wonder Woman movie. If this doesn’t work, you might as well shut it down. Outside of Batman and Superman, Warners hasn’t been able to successfully adapt any other major superhero to the big screen. Wonder Woman is a tough nut to crack story wise but could combine the best elements that worked in Thor and Captain America.
Your Friend,
Jim
