DCEU started with the promising Superman movie Man of Steel in 2013. It has been nearly 11 years, and we are still waiting for the moment when we will see great movies in DC Extended Universe. But what happened? Everything was going well. DC fans had the great pleasure of witnessing the Batman V Superman movie, Suicide Squad, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Justice League Snyder Cut in 2021 (excluding the Justice League released in 2017).
How did the DCEU start? What were its potentials?
When Man of Steel was released in 2013, every fan of Superman had high hopes. In comic books, animated series, and movies, Superman was shown using his powers to their full potential, and all thought that Henry Cavill had big shoes to fill. We haven’t had any great Superman movies lately after Christopher Reeves’s original Superman (1978). Most people looked at Christopher Reeves as the face of the Superman character. Despite a great performance by other actors like Brandon Routh in Superman (2006), everyone had high expectations.
Man of Steel delivered great on the Expectations of Detective Comics or DC fans. Although, people criticized it for having fast-paced actions and destructions of buildings. People also say Lois Lane did not do well in the movie, even calling her “Lois Lame”. However, it changed the perception of people and accepted Henry Cavill as the face of modern Superman who didn’t wear “underwear outside,” unlike others. Hardcore comic book fans felt he should have worn it, but let’s skip that part.
Besides Henry Cavill, Russel Crowe as Jor-EL, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, and Kevin Costner as Pa Kent or Jonathan Kent outperformed in their roles. Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Christopher Meloni as Colonel Hardy, and Harry Lenix as General Swamwick were also good in their roles. Michael Shannon was “okay”, and anybody could play his part. Overall, it was a well-balanced movie that started rumours about Man of Steel 2.
After 3 years, Batman V Superman (2016) was released with Henry Cavill as Superman and Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne. In this next DCEU movie, fans of DC again criticized Zack Snyder and his team for destruction and Batman killing people in the movie. The theatrical release version quickly died down. However, the extended version was very good in terms of content and justification of the characters. These two movies were very slow and not that “great” to kick-start the whole DC Extended Universe.
Then came Suicide Squad in 2016, which had new characters that fans wanted to see. All played their parts, but people were still left confused with Jared Leto playing Joker. Margot Robbie was the star who stole the movie and the hearts of fans by portraying Harley Queen’s character perfectly. The movie did not receive praises from the fans again. Although it was an enjoyable movie, it was largely Joker’s character and things like the whole team bonding too quickly in the movie as a “family”. People griped and nitpicked about this movie, too, and their concerns were logical, too.
Will Smith was good as Deadshot, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, and Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag were all great. Cara Delevingne, despite her best efforts, played well on her part but was criticized and mocked for her dancing moves at the end while fighting.
Ruin Became Real
The Justice League, released in 2017, was one of the most important movies in DCEU and could change the fate of superhero movies forever. Zack Snyder stepped down as Director of Justice League, although he managed to complete many parts of the movie. The reason for stepping down as a director of the movie was his daughter’s unexpected death and studio not wanting him back. Now, after Joss Whedon stepped in, he made noticeable changes in the entire movie, which made the characters more “funnier” and relatable. However, it led to a big disaster from which the DC Extended Universe had no possible future in the coming years.
The same year, Wonder Woman performed well, with Gal Gadot playing the character. The movie was a sign of the DCEU going in the right direction after pumping out movies that were just meant to push the universe. Wonder Woman (2017) was successful worldwide, but it was the only movie that achieved critical and financial success. Others, like we said, did not receive good reviews. Next year, Aquaman, with Jason Momoa as the character, again proved that DCEU was not dead. It was a good movie full of great moments and entertaining scenes.
Again, Shazam! in 2019 made the fans happy by bringing more laughs and actions than they hoped for. But, looking at the chronology of the movies, we can say that the thinkers or brains behind the series were not precise and had little idea of what the movies were to do. The success of Shazam did not prove that the future was going to be Pride for DCEU. In fact, it was already on the decline due to the intervention of the studio and lack of interest by DC fans.
Following Shazam, two more movies got their release that included Birds of Prey (2020) and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020). Both the movies were okay for most of the part, not great. DC EXtended Universe should have been successful by far but the fans were really disappointed with the Justice League since 2017 and kept on posting “Release The Snyder Cut” on social media and pretty much everywhere. With intense protest against the studio, Zack Snyder’s Justice League was released in 2021.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League was not available in the theaters but on HBO Max via online streaming. Despite its release on an OTT platform, it was a smash hit. Everybody was happy, and the movie was just a super hit on the online platform. It was like Christmas when Santa Claus delivered the exact gift that the kids (DC fans) Wanted at the festival. After learning that Zack Snyder’s Justice League was a great movie, fans kept anticipating Justice League 2. However, there is still no sign of any future JLA 2 movie in the DCEU. Justice League 2 has very minimal chances of getting launched.
Despite other movies like The Suicide Squad (2021) with new characters, Black Adam (2022), and Shazam Fury of the Gods (2023), DC fans enjoyed but largely felt uninterested in the movies. These movies were enjoyable but did not have much hope for the future. The Flash (2023) was good and enjoyable but not great. The fans were expecting something like the iconic Flashpoint movie, but they did not get it. Blue Beetle (2023) did well, but it was just not enough. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hinted that the DCEU is dead. It performed better than Blue Beetle and the Flash but, largely due to a poor storyline, ended everything.
Now, the upcoming DCEU movies include Joker: Folie à Deux, getting released on October 4, 2024, Superman on July 11, 2025, The Batman Part II with Robert Pattinson on October 6, 2026, and that’s it! The way things are going, it is safe to say that the studios behind DC Extended Universe do not wish to continue the old franchise. DC fans consider Aquaman 2 or Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to be the last punch that ended the DCEU. Now, the majority of hardcore fans and those who want to get good entertainment do not feel the need for any more DCEU.
Mostly, we may not get any more DC movies with Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, Zackery Levi, Ben Affleck, Ezra Miller, and other actors. Now, it feels like the studio behind the DC franchise plans to consider “what works” and aim to launch a new set of movies for Batman and Joker. No more Darkseid and no more Justice League 2.
