By Chris Snellgrove | Published
One night, I was leaving a movie theater with some friends, and we started passing around posters advertising upcoming movies. I pointed to the poster showing it ClayfaceAn upcoming DC movie written by horror legend Mike Flanagan. I told my friend how much I was looking forward to watching it; without missing a beat, he said, “It happens in the same universe as that Supergirlyou know.” I didn't have to be Batman to see his point: that is, it's absurd to think of the colorful and clever adventures of a flying girl in a cinematic universe as a psychological game based on madness and murder.
However, Supergirl director Craig Gillespie recently explained how very different films could easily sit within the DCU. In an interview with Fandango, he admitted that he was worried about how much Supergirl needed to “be part of the DC universe.” When asked by James Gunn, the DCU Studios guru replied, “'We treat this as each graphic novel in its own right. Gillespie leans towards this, believing that good graphic novels can and should be visually and narratively distinct, and that's why Supergirl it looks and feels very different than that Superman. Reading this, I couldn't help but think about something profound: James Gunn's fanboyism just helped him fix the problem that sank the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
A Different Kind of Hero
Part of why fans are excited about the MCU in the first place is that it feels like the comics were inspired by it. The characters used to appear in each other's movies and from time to time they all got together for superhero shows The Avengers. However, the nature of this shared universe has kept writers, directors, and producers from treating individual movies like their own, self-contained visual novels. Eventually, most of the MCU films started to feel very different because the creators were forced to fit their story within Marvel's house style. That meant endless jokes and broad jokes, whether the character deserved it or not.
While The Man of Steel set the tone of a simple universe, the MCU wasn't completely foolproof until it was a success The Avengers. Audiences responded insanely well to the introspective humor and witty dialogue from director Joss Whedon, whose shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer again Firefly he taught a whole generation of intellectuals to love this style of writing. This inspired James Gunn to go all out with him Guardians of the Galaxyand after the audience falls in love, all bets are off. The MCU ended up being dominated by comic characters like the Guardians and Spider-Man, and serious heroes like Thor and the Hulk became cute caricatures.
Miracle: All Formula, No Flavor
What do I do? Supergirl Director Craig Gillespie's recent comments about the DCU have something to do with Marvel's craze for stupidity? First, the MCU's broad comics aren't going away anytime soon. While Avengers: Doomsday again Avengers: Secret Wars it will be serious, The end of the game-In style news, Marvel guru Kevin Feige will be focusing on a rebooted cinematic space specifically for the X-Men. Not only are these adaptations known for being funny, but their first film will be directed by Jake Schreier, Thunder it was another one broad, integrated humor. It seems like the “new” MCU will be pretty much the same, but the DCU is gearing up to finally bring something new to superhero fans.
Per Gillespie, Gunn's comment about treating each DCU film as its own graphic novel means that we could finally have something that Marvel has never really given us: an interconnected universe made up of vastly different stories. DC comics are the same, with horror titles like Alan Moore's Swamp thing which is everywhere with fancy titles like Superman's friend Jimmy Olsen. As a longtime comic fan, I love the idea that the DCU films could be equally diverse in terms of tone, humor, aesthetics, and more. Honestly, that's a lot more fun than watching another Marvel movie watered down enough to fit the troupe's boring house style.
Long story not so short? That is clear Supergirl it will have a very different tone and feel to it Supermanagain Clayface looks like it's going to be in a whole new level of weirdness. However, that is a good thing. When the MCU fell apart all of its movies became crappy knockoffs of the original They don't take revengethe DCU is poised to thrive by making every movie feel different. This is all thanks to DCU Studios head James Gunn treating these films with the same respect he treats the source material. Does that make him a fanboy? Of course. But you know what they say: it takes one to make one happy!
