It Looks Like Universal Studios Is Still Planning To Move Forward With The DARK UNIVERSE

@Psyconiix - My thoughts exactly, nothing about how they marketed The Mummy came off as a horror movie...if that's what they're going for they need to come harder next time.

@Psyconiix - Stop turning horror icons into action movies.

That was my first thought too and then when I clicked on comments I saw your comment.

These should not be action adventure movies... Make them scary, make them horrifying! Scare the crap out of people and you'll get huge crowds. Get rid of Tom Cruz.... Hell, when it comes to horror you can have a huge hit without a household name.

Since they seem on this action adventure path, I am terribly apprehensive when I think of how they're going to do, Creature From The Black Lagoon.

@Psyconiix - This comment for the win!

@LoudLon - ^^^THIS

@LoudLon - Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Wonder Woman ARE good films. They tell us of a boy from another planet achieving his lifelong goal of using his abilities to help others when he becomes Superman. They tell us of three heroes being plunged into the depths of absolute despair yet still finding hope and becoming better versions of themselves as a result. They tell us of a woman who learns that humanity is not past saving if you believe it's not.

The problem with these other shared universes is not that they are working toward a shared universe. It's that they try to make their shared universe films into action comedies, like the majority of Marvel movies. With The Mummy, they tried to do a modern day remake of the 1990’s film with shared universe tropes.

Before Man of Steel, DC tried to turn Green Lantern into Iron Man. After Man of Steel, they tried to turn Suicide Squad into Guardians of the Galaxy and Justice League into The Avengers after they were long established as something else. They failed miserably on all three counts. Just because it works for Marvel, doesn't mean everyone who runs a shared universe should take that same approach. Even they have started to progress beyond that and taken a photo from their competition.

Universal and DC Films should focus on creating their own identity instead of trying to be “like the cool kids”.

@SisterSunday52 - I respectfully disagree about MoS and BvS being good movies, but I'm more or less with you on Wonder Woman. I didn't love it, but also didn't hate it, yet I think Gadot was absolutely magnetic in the lead. I feel she's the best casting in the DCCU to date and completely embodies that character. Affleck's a close second, though. I think he's a much better Batman/Wayne than he's given credit for.

That said, I do totally agree with what you're saying about the DCCU trying desperately to mimic the MCU. Justice League was a badly written Avengers flick in everything but name (even the characters all felt more like knock-off Avengers characters than their actual DC selves), Suicide Squad, as you said, tried desperately to be Guardians but completely lacked everything that made that movie good (or movies good in general LOL), Green Lantern felt like a Schumacher Batman movie...ugh. But what really made it obvious that it was an attempt to copy the MCU formula was the post-credits scene. I swear to God, when I saw that flick in the cinema, a good half of the audience snickered or pointed at the screen and commented to the effect of "They ripped off Marvel!"

I think the biggest mistake the DCCU has made to date is allowing Snyder and David Ayer to "reimagine" the characters for a modern audience. Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Aquaman -- they're archetypes. Their characteristics have long been set, and that's what fans love about them. Superman is a big blue boyscout, Batman doesn't kill, etc. Altering those archetypes renders the characters unrecognizable. Thus the fan backlash over Superman killing Zod, and Batman blowing up dudes with grenades and shooting them with machine guns (even if that bit was in a dream sequence), or Lex Luthor being a snarky Millenial. You don't fix what ain't broke, and I think that's where the DCCU has gone astray so far.

@LoudLon - "I think the biggest mistake the DCCU has made to date is allowing Snyder and David Ayer to "reimagine" the characters for a modern audience."
That's not it at all. The Post-Crisis comics did the exact same thing. Superman IS still a big blue boy scout in the Modern Age DC Comics as well as in Snyder's DC Films. In the DC Films, his moment (that Uncle Ben or the death of Batman's parents moment, where the hero decides what they are going to do with their lives) occurs when he is hiding from the big, loud and violent world and his mother teaches him that he can use his abilities to make it safer and easier to manage. An origin doesn't get much more Boy Scout than that. However, both the Modern Age and Snyder recognized that you don't just put on the uniform and become a boy scout. There's a whole lot more to it than that. There are oaths to be memorized, merit badges to be earned, etc. and they aren't easy to get. You make mistakes. You fall short the first time you try, but you learn to get better. That's what was happening in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman as well as the early Post-Crisis comics.

In the comics, there was a story where Superman killed Zod. In the comics, there were stories where Superman felt like his decision to use his abilities to help others could be doing more harm than good, but he grew from these experiences. He learned how to be Superman from those instances where he learned how not to be Superman and it gave us some great stories in the years to come, like “What's so funny about Truth, Justice and the American Way” among others.

The same occurred in the DC Films. Jonathan Kent's sacrifice led Clark to realize that, if he was going to protect his secret, and all the people who would be affected by its discovery, he couldn't be Clark Kent. He saved people across the country under multiple aliases, before settling on Superman. What he learned from the Black Zero event led to him immediately flying Doomsday out into space and while he failed to reason with General Zod, who was set in his resolve, the first thing he did in his fight with Batman (who was also set in his resolve) was try to reason with him, and he was able to get through to him, and save him from the dark path he was going down.

With Batman, the film was an indictment of the more violent incarnation of the character in the comics as well as the previous films. He was a Batman who felt his rules against killing no longer mattered in a world of superpowered people and, over the course of the film, he learns that they matter more than ever, and to forgive and hope again.

Zack Snyder's DC Films heroes start out as incomplete versions of the heroes we know and love, but they become every bit those heroes over time, making us appreciate them all the more.

@TomSolo - It's not about the writing. Lex Luthor has long since ceased to believe in God or miracles and has set out to be his own God and to obtain power by taking it from others. He resents Superman, because he was born with his power and sets an elaborate plan in motion to break Superman's spirit and to destroy the world's faith in him, so that when he kills Superman, the world will recognize that he was a false God and Lex should be their true hero. This was how Snyder imagined him. It was Jesse Eisenberg's performance that made him look like a snarky millennial. That's the frustrating thing.

Some of the best comic book stories take the heroes and challenge them. Something happens that makes them question their values for one reason or another, and they lose sight of who they are and what they stand for, but they learn the importance of their values, and they become better heroes for the challenge. That's what Batman v Superman is. Yes, you can change the story to Superman fighting Deathstroke or Red Hood, but it works better with Batman learning how important his rules are, and telling Red Hood or other characters how he learned his lesson and how he became a better hero as a result.

@SisterSunday52 - omg you never quit defending this garbage.

@cbostont102 - Eh, nobody's perfect. For instance, I'm just too damned good-lookin'. :/

@SisterSunday52 - Without focusing in on some of the dated and downright stupid stuff in the Donner movies, they really nailed the essence of the character in a way Snyder didn't. He strayed too far from the right way for the character. You're going to say we each have a right to our opinions, my version isnt yours and certain comic books disagree with mine, etc, etc, on and on.. But, I really think you're missing something. A lot of people think as I do for more reason than you acknowledge. We know what Superman is and what his story should look like, and Zack didn't come close.