It’s tough being a DCEU fan. Since Man of Steel, Warner Bros has been desperately trying to emulate the success of the MCU, though their chaotic decisions never seem to work out. Right now we’re apparently on the cusp of a “reset” of DC movies, though before that there’s at least a year of uncertainty ahead of us.
And what do MCU fans have a bee in their bonnet about? A slightly cheap-looking CGI spaceship in a recent She-Hulk promo.
The situation is neatly summarized in this tweet, which contrasts the problems facing each group of fans:
The key difference between Marvel Studios and Warner Bros seems to be mainly a matter of confidence. When Marvel puts out a movie or TV show that’s a critical or financial disappointment, they don’t radically change course on the overall MCU project. For all we know, there might have been a lot of behind-the-scenes drama when Eternals wasn’t the smash-hit they’d hoped for, but we didn’t see it and the studio simply moved on to the next release.
By contrast, Warner Bros radiates nuclear levels of insecurity. Their flailing about trying to hit some kind of magic formula for success looks desperate, particularly over the last few weeks. Canceling the practically complete Batgirl looks less like prudent avoidance of the sunk cost fallacy and more like outright incompetence that they’d let a project get that far and then can it.
Maybe the management of the DCEU will improve after they hammer on the reset button, but as their biggest upcoming release being a long-delayed blockbuster starring someone now better known for their disturbing criminal acts doesn’t bode well.