At this point, it’s safe to say that DC Films and Warner Bros. Justice League movie has taken a windy, rocky, road through production. The film was born out of the absolute mess that was Batman v Superman, and was to be the product of same visionary (Zack Snyder).
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That initial doubt only grew throughout production, as rumors (both true and completely off the mark) pointed to problems between studio and director. Things entered a new phase of worry when Snyder dropped out of the Justice League director’s chair, and was replaced by Avengers director Joss Whedon. Despite the personal reason behind Snyder’s departure, there’s been continued rumor that Justice League is having to undergo massive reshoots and re-edits (both script and photography), and that there’s plenty of anxiety on all parts over whether it can come together in time to ride the wave of success started by Wonder Woman this summer.
So, after all of this trial, and all the worry still in the air, just what does Justice League need to achieve in order to justify its place in the DC Extended Universe, and continue the upward trend for DC’s Cinematic Universe, which Wonder Woman has started?
Wholesale Heroes
The first thing that Justice League needs to achieve, is doing what Batman v Superman could not: selling every one of its DC superheroes as potential films franchises.
Yes, that will be easy for Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman now, and fans are still buzzing about what’s next for Ben Affleck’s Batman. With Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn circling the next Superman movie, there’s already hope and interest there; but what about Jason Mamoa’s Aquaman, who has a major film out next year? Or Ezra Miller’s Flash, whose Flashpoint movie will be a major crossover event? That’s not to mention introducing both actor Ray Fisher and his character Cyborg to the masses, and possibly a new Green Lantern team as well.
In short: it’s a lot of franchise to establish in one film, and could turn out to be the reason why some fans preach that Marvel’s approach (solo films before teamups) is the better one. It’s on Justice League to prove them wrong.
The DC Brand
DC Films has gone through a major creative turnaround after the backlash against Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, and Wonder Woman was the film the marked that beginning of that process.
One bit of speculation is that DC and WB wasn’t thrilled with more of Snyder’s tonal and creative approach to the property, and Whedon will deliver a more (for lack of better term) “Marvel-esque” experience.
Whatever the case may be, Wonder Woman left fans with a distinct image of a DC superhero movie that actually felt heroic, and Justice League needs to carry that baton.
Competing Box Office (Marvel)
Fans always like to argue that box office isn’t everything when it comes to the quality of a movie franchise (see: Transformers), and while Justice League can definitely “succeed” without a massive box office haul (see: “branding” explained above), in another sense, it does need to make money that can be competitively compared to Marvel.
That’s no attempt to start a flame war – it’s just a fact. Up until now there’s been a certain amount of ‘apples to oranges’ leeway in all DC vs. Marvel movie discussions; however, with each studio now having a milestone teamup film under its belt (and both directed by Joss Whedon, no less) it’s officially ‘apples to apples’ discussion time.
A billion dollars is the mark that the DCEU has yet to hit; if it doesn’t happen with Justice League, then it’s going to be real hard for continued argument that this franchise is on the right track.
Cohesive Vision
This one is little technical, but pretty crucial: no matter where the line is between rumor and fact, it’s clear that Justice League has been through some creative hurdles during production.
With Justice League having potentially gone through massive script edits, reshoots, and a director change, the biggest (yet most basic) challenge may be just delivering a movie that feels cohesive and polished.
Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot was a victim of differing creative vision; there’s literally a fade to black marking the moment where Josh Trank’s vision ends, and studio reshoots begin. Justice League cannot (nay, must not) go out like that.
The Next Phase
Last but not least, Justice League has the tiny massive task of finally erasing the bad stigma that’s hounded the DCEU, and exciting viewers for everything the studio has planned for the future.
Warner Bros. is now doubling down on its DC properties, launching a complementary line of DC standalone films, to go along with the DCEU. However, if Justice League flops, it will truly be an “every DC movie for itself” type of world, where each film’s creative vision will have to sell itself to the masses, because the DC Films logo sure won’t do it.
More to the immediate point: those aforementioned Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg films are not going to just sell themselves unless Justice League provides the initial incentive. So even though it’s technically the fifth film in the DCEU lineup, it needs to do the work of a franchise starter. Post-credits setup scenes won’t better if fans hate the preceding film.
Justice League will be in theaters on November 17th. Let us know how excited you are by ranking your anticipation for the film, below.
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