The multibillion-dollar franchise Marvel which now encompasses nearly every facet of pop culture should apparently be taking notes from their biggest competitor, DC, according to an absolutely scorching take from a fan.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s effect on the film industry is palpable. Every studio is now diving through its archives for film rights and ways to crossover several different properties. Among them are Warner Bros. and DC Comics, who have both stuttered several times with their film strategy.
But, one brave soul has danced his way onto the stage at /r/MarvelStudios saying that Marvel should learn some big things from DC.
Film studios do learn a lot from each other. Still, the original poster’s idea of complete stand-alone stories within the Marvel Cinematic Universe would go against the very idea of a cinematic universe. Warner Bros. saw success with the standalone The Batman, but is that a strategy that really fits in with Marvel?
Others point out that if anyone should be learning from anyone in this scenario, it should be Warner Bros. executives learning from the successes of the Marvel Studios decision-makers. One comment also wonders if there’d even be a point to a Joker-esque standalone film with any of the Marvel roster.
It’s worth going back to why DC is doing more standalone projects these days, and that is because the cinematic universe they attempted to build just didn’t capture the imaginations of audiences or critics. Plus, who’d want to be in a franchise that has Ezra Miller as The Flash?
Marvel’s most significant lesson learnt from DC over the years may have actually been more about demographics and marketing. Captain Marvel arguably owes its success to DC making Wonder Woman a few years prior. Studios look to each other for guidance, no decision is made in a vacuum nowadays.
DC’s next big release is Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, currently set for an Oct. 21 release date.