Warner Bros and DC Comics have had a lot of cinematic success over their storied histories, ranging from the original Superman films from Richard Donner, to Tim Burton’s Batman, and even Christopher Nolan’s take on the Caped Crusader.
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But when it came to establishing a shared universe in the wake of Marvel Studios’ arrival, they’ve been playing catch up to mixed results. Sure, their movies are successful at the box office, but the Razzie Award-winning Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the Academy Award-winning Suicide Squad have been considered divisive among fans.
You can ask anyone, and they’ll give you an entirely different reason for what works and what doesn’t in DC’s film output. “Too serious” or “too realistic,” maybe. “Not enough fun,” perhaps. The films clearly live in the shadow of Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, and maybe that’s the issue right there.
While speaking at the Warner Bros. panel at WonderCon this weekend, Johns acknowledged that certain pieces have to be in place for their future shared universe to succeed across all avenues in movie theaters.
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With Wonder Woman—ComicBook’s 9th Most Anticipated Film—just a couple of months from its premiere ahead of Justice League at the end of the year, Johns’ impact as president of DC Films should be felt in the upcoming releases.
Johns was quoted as saying that all DC movies need to have three things moving forward: “heart, humor, and heroics.”
The quote captured by ScreenRant doesn’t indicate that Johns feels prior movies lacked those three aspects, but that they most be more prominent for future films in their universe to succeed.
We’ll find out if the Three H’s apply to Wonder Woman when it releases in theaters on June 2.
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Before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris Pine) who tells her about the massive conflict that’s raging in the outside world. Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny.
Wonder Woman is directed by Patty Jenkins, from a screenplay by Allan Heinberg & Geoff Johns, story by Heinberg & Zack Snyder and Jason Fuchs, and stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, Elena Anaya, Lucy Davis, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner and David Thewlis.
