7) The Herd Mentality
Rarely has a franchise pandered so hard to audiences in an attempt to increase its popularity. When Man of Steel‘s box office figures came in below expectations, Warner Bros. decided to scrap Man of Steel 2 and make the sequel a showdown between Superman and its most popular superhero character, Batman. Then, when the R-rated Deadpool did unexpected business for Fox, Warners suddenly announced that there was an R-rated cut of Batman V Superman on the way.
Now we have Suicide Squad getting extensive (and expensive) reshoots, reportedly to add more humor, after both fans and critics made it known that they felt the levity was lacking from BvS. While Marvel Studios’ MCU was a unique concept in the beginning, so far the DCEU has not led but followed, changing its original plans according to trends.
The DCEU should really have the courage of its convictions to create original content, but right now it’s suffering from a herd mentality.