Warner Bros' DCU Chaos Continues - Flash Delayed, Ben Affleck & Henry Cavill Out

[JayC]

Warner Bros' DCU Chaos Continues - Flash Delayed, Ben Affleck & Henry Cavill Out

Entertainment

by Jay Cochran - [edit post]
October 16, 2018

Variety is reporting the the Flash stand-alone movie which is slated to star Ezra Miller from the Justice League movie will be delayed till some time in 2021. While the movie has never received an official release date, it was expected to start shooting next March and be released some time in 2020. According to the report, the script for the Flash movie is still being tweaked and that Miller himself will soon begin working on the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts trilogy where he has a sizeable supporting role, hence causing him to have a scheduling conflict.

Warner Bros' DC Cinematic Universe has been struggling with chaos ever since their Justice League movie failed to perform well at the box office. Variety in this very report seems to confirm rumors that both Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill are officially out as Batman and Superman.

Up until now the only modern DC movie to do well at the box office has ben Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman which is already getting a sequel later this year. After that in December Aquaman who is portrayed by Justice League alum Jason Momoa is next up for the stand-alone film treatment, but it is unknown how well it will perform. It's got its work cut out for it if you ask me.

If Aquaman has another lack-luster performance at the box-office for Warner Bros, one has to wonder if they will be willing to role the dice at all on Flash or if they will just try and start over completely from scratch. We already have seen them starting to move forward with a Joker stand-alone movie that will star Joaquin Phoenix and seemingly has no connection with the Jared Leto version recently seen in Suicide Squad.

Suicide Squad itself may be heading for a major re-haul as it was another movie that was not received well by most DC fans. Recent reports have suggested that Warner Bros is looking to bring in former Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn to write the script and possibly direct the next film. Gunn himself was recently fired by Disney for old tweets dug up online dealing with rape and pedophilia. While many fans have been willing to continue to support the somewhat disgraced director, the move to bring him in on another comic book based project has been viewed by some as nothing more than a publicity stunt on the part of Warner Bros.

The future of the DCCU is unclear but everything Warner Bros. does seems to scream to me at least that they really have no clear cut vision for the property, and are just being reactive instead of proactive with it. To me that doesn't bode well for a comic book based universe that will ever be able to dethrone Marvel and Disney as king of the big screen super heroes.

[memocromatico]

I spoke about this with friends a long time ago, when the DC slate was revealed. They were being too ambitious and saturating the market. Even now, Marvel is doing just that, 2-3 movies a year. 12 series, most with at least a couple of seasons. It's getting a bit too much.  We as public are getting bombarded by superhero properties, and while most are enjoyable, we're clearly gonna start to turn away from what isn't worth our time and money.

[sXeblues]

So much of this feels like a ‘tail that wags the dog’ kind of problem... WB came out and announced all of these ambitious titles, without any real concrete plan in line to go over, step-by-step. And, as we see, they certainly had no contingency plan, to speak of. And, it’s a real shame to see it all imploding in on itself now, especially as these characters are some of my all-time favorites. Superman and his Justice League compatriots are tantamount to the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ and ‘Hercules’ myths of old. They’re fantastical, and wondrous. And WB doesn’t seem to know thing one about how to best utilize them. The same problem currently exists with their ‘Titans’ series, as far as I’m concerned. They keep trying to reinvent the wheel, because they think audiences will find their characters old and stale, as-is. And I just have to wonder — and, I say this as someone who has mostly enjoyed the DCEU films, thus far — how many screw-ups are they going to have to go through, before they take a step back, take stock, and learn something from their impetuous mistakes??

[GojiBill]

My biggest complaint with DCEU, and this has been echoed by many, is that they didn’t build their world like MCU did. They saw the success of MCU and forced their way into a cinematic universe using Man of Steel as a stepping stone. It would have been great to have had the two franchises running concurrently. Marvel has always been my preference, but I have nothing against DC. Both are great when handled properly.

[yojoebro82]

I've said it so many times I feel like a broken record:  There is NO PLAN for DC characters at WB.

I would say reboot it all, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll come up with a plan if they do.  Just let it rest.

[Belmont13]

The DCEU needs a point man like Marvel's Kevin Feige, they need someone who has a semblance of a plan/direction for the characters and the universe, someone who is willing to fight the execs and put his/her foot down when they want to interfere with the movie. It has become painfully clear that neither Geoff Johns or Zack Snyder are that person. I have yet to see Justice League but the rest of the movies in the DCEU so far have failed to impress me. I enjoyed Man of Steel, I have quite a few problems with it, but I still enjoy it and now Superman's future is uncertain. What saddens me most about this is that I was looking forward to DC/WB tackling the Green Lantern again. It's a shame out my top 3 favorite comic book characters 2 of them have been done near perfectly in live action and Hal Jordan still remains with that 2011 atrocity. Heck, at this point I'll take Kyle Rayner just don't go with Guy or John Stewart.

[Blackmada]

Cancel them all, take a vacation and try again in 5 years.  Geoff Johns, go back to writing awesome comic stories.

[yojoebro82]

11 hours ago, Belmont13 said:

The DCEU needs a point man like Marvel's Kevin Feige, 

Marvel would not have the success it's had without Feige.  So much so that every franchise is out to try to duplicate what Marvel has done.  From DC to Star Wars to franchise started back in the 80s or earlier.  WB may have a couple of movies that work on their own as stand alones but as a universe builder, it's a complete and total misfire.

[FASVB]

Well. at this point is pretty much doomed. They wanted so much to be like marvel that forgot to be an universe of their own and establish the characters and stories. 

Sure a guy like Feige at the helm makes the difference and Feof Johns could fill that role, however, Marvel Studios and Feige have something that directors and producers at DC don't have and that is independence. 

Warner is at the top and sends all the orders don't comply and you are out. Plain and simple. Or if you make something we don't like we go over you and change the whole thing. 

This is a clear recipe for disaster.  The same thing happens to Sony and Fox. 

[sXeblues]

On 10/17/2018 at 8:58 AM, Belmont13 said:

The DCEU needs a point man like Marvel's Kevin Feige, they need someone who has a semblance of a plan/direction for the characters and the universe, someone who is willing to fight the execs and put his/her foot down when they want to interfere with the movie. It has become painfully clear that neither Geoff Johns or Zack Snyder are that person.

Yea, I couldn’t agree more, with this assessment... In fact, I’ve basically been saying the same thing for a while now. And that’s coming from somebody who has mostly liked the DCEU efforts for what they were, but also being absolutely aware of, and dissatisfied with, all of the behind the scenes WTFery that has been, and remains, ongoing. It is incredulous to me how inept WB is, when it comes to these properties. And the lack of a creative vision, of focus for these brands and characters on whole, has damn near run the entire thing straight into the ground, at this point.

[FASVB]

Now this

Wonder Woman delayed and will see release only in 2020

I wonder (no pun intended) whats she meant by "changing landscape" and "rightful place".