Well I have been saying for quite awhile now that DC needs its own independent studio away from WB, much like the Marvel/Disney arrangement. That sentiment was confirmed yesterday when I found out that Batman and Superman were going to be in a LEGO movie and be played by Will Arnett and Channing Tatum. Channing Tatum. Playing Superman. Yeah a separate studio is definitely needed. I was thinking about writing this after The Dark Knight Rises came out, but this news moved the article violently up. So indulge me and allow me to go into why I feel a separate studio is needed.
Green Lantern stands as a perfect example of why the separate studio is needed. WB had way too much influence on this movie and it showed. They obviously did not allow the minds at DC to have creative control and do what was necessary to make this a great movie. For example, Hector Hammond was a screaming moron and Parallax was a freaking cloud! They actually copied Rise of The Silver Surfer’s Galactus Cloud! Hello, there is a reason that people hated Galactus in that movie! Do you really think DC Studios would make those decisions? The answer is no. They just need to give DC creative control and only finance the movies, again like the Marvel/DC arrangement. If that happens, then I think they can make some great films. And yeah, they put Geoff Johns in charge, but his track record has not always been sterling either and he did not prevent the crap that happened in Green Lantern. Which brings me to my next point…
This would allow for DC to get their own Kevin Feige. Again, look at the success Marvel is having with Feige at the helm. All their movies have been well received and made plenty of money, especially that small movie that just came out this year… One big reason that they have been successful is that they have had one guy who oversees everything and keeps it together and cohesive. He also helps give the fans what they want. DC needs someone like this to make their movies and their (likely) shared universe work. Really, this will only happen with their own studio and there are some good candidates. Johns most definitely should not be the one to do this, as obviously he did not care enough to stop the travesties that went on in Green Lantern. The big ones I have seen are Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, and Andrea Romano. Personally, I would be okay with any of those three as the “Feige” of DC Studios. I think that any one of them could hold the whole thing together, make sure we get good movies, and make sure that the DCMU moves along like a well oiled machine. Also, I believe that any one of them would give us the movies we actually want.
This brings this whole thing full circle back to the beginning. DC Studios would actually be able to finally give us the movies we actually want. We don’t want a LEGO movie, we want an actual World’s Finest movie(personally I don’t because it’s just the same two characters again, but would be happy to watch said movie). Be honest, who is really asking for Mandrake the Magician and The Metal Men? Or a PG-13 Lobo movie? What’s that, no one is? That is what I thought. Those movies could be cool, but we don’t want them. We want Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Green Lantern (requel) solo movies! And of course, a Justice League movie. These are the movies that need to be focused on, so that we can get an awesome DCMU. Those solo movies would not only have a chance to be good movies, but also build up to a potentially awesome Justice League movie! These are the movies we want to see, not those other ones. I believe DC Studios would understand this and give us what we want.
I know DC purists/die-hards are going to be angry with me for suggesting this, but DC/WB need to take a page out of Marvel/Disney’s book. Create the studio and have it be funded by WB, but all creative control goes to DC Studios. It works for Marvel and Disney, why can’t it work for you too? Also, follow their MCU example and use solo movies to build to your epic team-up. There is absolutely no shame in doing so. Like I have been saying: The blueprint is there, just follow it.
Well those are my thoughts on the situation, what do you guys think? Am I right? Am I talking out of my ass? How would you go about it? Who should be the DC “Feige”? Sound off with your thoughts below. Respectfully please