Why The DCEU Should Have Started With THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY And MAN OF STEEL - Phase 1

I don't see how Bale's Batman can hang with Cavill's Superman. Dude can barely get by against rottweilers. Also, Ben's Batman destroy Hardy's Bane.

I don't think they should have tried to warp The Dark Knight trilogy into a shared universe. Nolan's Gotham, while good, wasn't exactly Gotham from the comics. It's missing a great deal of what makes Batman and his world so compelling and interesting. So not a good foundation. I also think that reintroducing Batman could have worked, had we been introduced to Batman from Clark's perspective (that is, in a Superman sequel with Superman as the sole protagonist and Batman as the antagonist), with a Batman solo film following later.

Here's what I would have done:

I would have started with Man of Steel, with slight alterations for a story focused on Clark's development into the first, proper hero ("What if a child dreamed of becoming something other than what society had intended for him or her? What if a child aspired to something greater?"). Then, I would have done a Man of Steel 2 that introduces Batman and his history in Gotham and establishes Clark in a unique Metropolis; a Wonder Woman origin story; a Flash origin story; a Batman solo film; and a Cyborg origin story. I'd follow that up with a Justice League film that introduces Aquaman (so, taking inspiration from Throne of Atlantis).

@Mickeus My friend! YOU HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!

DO NOT LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO KEEP SAYING THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY COULD NOT WORK IN AN BROADER DC WORLD! IT IS A LIE THAT ZACK SNYDER REPEATS TO JUSTIFY HIS DESTRUCTION OF THE DC UNIVERSE!

Like Iron Man did with the Marvel Universe, the Dark Knight films could have laid the ground work for an epic and amazing shared universe. It would have been the gift that keeps on giving for WB. here are TEN reasons why...

1) Since Batman Begins predates Iron Man, it takes away Marvel's claim that they were the first to start their shared universe;

2) If the Dark Knight films were incorporated with Man of Steel, three of their first four films in the DC universe would have been among the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films in CBM history thus far - instead of now two films with one mediocre and one downright bad;

3) In terms of the number of films, DC would be farther along. The next film would be the studio's fifth movie in the shared universe as opposed to what is now only it’s third;

4) The combination of the actors from both franchises have collectively more critical praise than that of Marvels (although that gap is closing) and in fact an onscreen meeting between Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne and Amy Adam’s Lois Lane could have been a marketing bonanza for WB since both actors are well known for playing opposite one another in celebrated films such as American Hustle and the Fighter ;

5) Furthermore, you would already have four super heroes ALREADY established (Batman, Superman, Catwoman, and a variation on Nightwing from the Dark Knight Rises);

6) Keeping Bale as Batman would have avoided the bad publicity surrounding Affleck who would have been better served introducing a completely new character to the DC Universe (Deathstroke) if you were to ask me. He also could have elevated that character to A-List status the same way Heath ledger did for the Joker, Robert Downey Jr. did for Iron Man, and Ryan Reynolds did for Deadpool...while at the same time keeping the fan base that embraced Bale's Batman. Affleck would have avoided comparisons to other actors who played Batman. Just imagine Bale's Batman taking on a bigger more imposing and intimidating version of Deathstroke played by Affleck who could then use that to start a new dark DC franchise;

7) It would have also provided WB the opportunity to use new talented directors to build on the foundation that Nolan started such as Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant). But the way DC is now, who is going to want to take on this current clusterf**k with many current DC directors who now seem like they are trying to get out of working at DC;

8) In terms of delving into the fantastic it is a complete LIE that a film cannot introduce fantastic elements AND feel realistic. The best example is the Dark Knight films which included a Batmobile (Tumbler) that jumped from building to building; a "microwave emitter" that zapped water into gas instantly; a gadget that could reconstitute a shattered bullet and get a fingerprint; a sonar device that mapped out the world around Batman using sound; and Bane's superhuman ability to shatter a concrete column. And it has been done before, I often cite the example of District 9 - a movie about aliens that was made in a way that made it feel realistic. EVEN Nolan himself never stated that it could not be done, only he chose not to do it. In an interview with Hero Complex in 2008, Christopher Nolan stated in response to the idea that other superheroes would appear in a crossover that “No, correct, it’s a different universe. It’s a different way of looking at it. Now, it’s been done successfully, very successfully, in the comics so I don’t dispute it as an approach. It just isn’t the approach we took;

9) The Dark Knight films offered a style, tone and aesthetic that was unique to DC and different from Marvel thereby avoiding the any sense that DC was copying Marvel. Whereas DC seems to now appear to be becoming more like Marvel as with the quip "is she with you" in BVS which suggests that DC is starting to try to copy Marvels out of context humor; and

10) Most important the Dark Knight movies would have provided the perfect preface for a central theme that was in the Dark Knight films - escalation. The emergence of super powered beings could have been a great way to delve deeper into that idea and a logical reason as to why villains sought to increase their power as opposed to now where characters like Lex Luthor want to kill...just because.

If WB wants to catch up to Marvel in quality and box office receipts, the easiest and most promising way of achieving that is to circle back and pretend BvS never happened and build their universe around the Dark Knight trilogy. I know as a matter of fact that it can be done. I have SEEN it and I can assure you there are clever ways to maintain the realistic feel of the Dark Knight films and Man of Steel and have fantasy introduced to other characters in the DC Universe.

No criticism here, except the fact that you suck.