It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… the birth of a new era of the DC Cinematic Universe!
Man of Steel, starring DC Comics icon Superman, just earned a gargantuan $113 million domestically in its opening June 14th weekend, on top of the $12 million it brought in from special preview screenings last Thursday. The $125-million debut is enough to make executives at Warner Bros., DC’s parent company, break out the champagne, and if ticket sales don’t drop off too steeply over the next few weeks, the film’s overall worldwide gross will likely bolster the company’s confidence in plans to produce more movies starring DC characters and the eventual
Justice League film millions of fans have been waiting for.
And it’s fitting. Superman’s DC’s standard bearer and the most appropriate character to energize the next wave of films based on the publisher’s source material, even more than Batman. Warner Bros. already tried to execute a broader movie strategy starting with
Green Lantern in 2011, but the movie flopped, so it was up to Superman to fly in and save the day, and he’ll most likely do the job.
Here are
three reasons why Superman’s movies will be the BEST ways to build a solid foundation for future DC films:
1. Of the world’s most popular superheroes, Superman’s the one who best represents the DC universe as a whole. Sure, Batman’s got more video games, toys, cartoons, and hit movies under his belt, but a powerless guy in a bat suit isn’t the best mascot for a world that’s home to an Amazon demigoddess, a space cop, a Martian mind reader, a superspeedster, and the king of the ocean. Superman is a superstrong, super fast alien with heat vision, and his adventures have a cosmic, science fiction element to them. Batman’s a great character, but his storylines just aren’t as broad in scope.
2. Superman’s “world” is big enough to easily introduce and sustain other DC elements. Superman storylines encompass alien planets and outer space adventure as well as villains and situations that only happen on Earth. You can read a Superman comic and see a giant robot, a bank robber, an intergalactic dictator, characters from the future and other dimensions, and “regular” people from corporate business and blue collar work. This network of source material is so big that it would be pretty easy for a writer or director to introduce other characters who are connected to other superheroes and villains. For example, the
Man of Steel sequel could have some Metropolis scientist, like Emil Hamilton, working on a project with Barry Allen, aka the Flash, from Central City, or Superman could be involved in a mystery involving archaeologists or historians connected to the ancient mythology and culture that Wonder Woman and Aquaman are tied to. The possibilities are robust.
3.He’s got an impressive storytelling team behind him for now, and so does DC. Zack Snyder, David S. Goyer, and Christopher Nolan created
Man of Steel, and they’ve proven that they can bring quality movies to theaters. Their resumes aren’t completely spotless (Snyder directed
Sucker Punch, after all), but most people know these folks are capable of some great viewing experiences. Rumors are that Snyder and Goyer will make the eventual
Justice League film, and both of them will join Nolan on at least one more film starring Superman too, so for the time being, they’re all on Team DC, which is a
very good thing for the company.
Right now, Superman’s DC’s magic bullet for more movies, and that’s how it should be. Warner Bros. tried to jumpstart the DC cinematic superhero train a few years ago with
Green Lantern, but that didn’t work out, and it’s fitting. The Green Lantern characters and mythos are interesting, but Superman’s the bigger character, and his storylines are just as epic as theirs are. Batman’s arguably more popular than Superman is, but Batman storylines are often so small in scale, it seems like it would be strange to introduce a Justice League-level villain like Darkseid in a movie starring the Dark Knight.