While everyone half-expects The Flash to flop and join the DCEU’s long list of failed projects, a lot of folks are pre-emptively selling its fate for one particular reason, and blaming Star Wars: The Last Jedi while they’re at it.
Who would’ve thought that the prodigal son of the galaxy far, far away saga would one day affect the superhero genre as well? But that indeed seems to be the case some fans are making on social media, claiming that The Last Jedi‘s contentious release and all the interminable debates it spawned back in 2017 have affected the industry at large, with companies adopting a more patronizing approach toward their audiences.
The Flash has found itself in the boiling kettle dozens of times throughout this unconventional promotional campaign, but the latest issue people are bringing up takes a shot at Michael Keaton’s Dark Knight because of one line in the latest trailer.
Keaton says his iconic line from the 1989 movie, and fans are wondering if this particular instance of fan-service is just a little too on the nose.
When did Hollywood essentially turn into a playground for fan-service moments? Well, apparently ever since The Last Jedi‘s aggressive subversion of expectations backfired disastrously.
it’s crazy how much cultural baggage is instilled in this 5 second clip. this all happened because Luke drank breastmilk, Vader looked cool fighting some people in a hallway, and BossLogic photoshopped three generations of Spider-Man together in 2018. Keaton is living Birdman
— Houston Coley (@artwithinpod) April 26, 2023
Some are saying it’s not a problem with The Last Jedi, but Rian Johnson fumbling the ball.
While it might be a gross overgeneralization to blame the path an entire industry is taking on a single movie, there’s no denying movies these days rely way too much on fan-service and cameos to rope people in.
Or else why would a movie centered on the Flash feature so many superheroes that are, well… not the Flash?