Highlights
- The DC Universe aims to create an interconnected universe, learning from Marvel’s mistakes.
- James Gunn leads DC Studios with plans for an interconnected universe across films, TV, and other media.
- DC faces challenges but reveals a chance to rival Marvel Studios with a new Justice League film on the horizon.
Marvel Studios is famous for its interconnected storytelling within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fans have eagerly devoured each new film, eager to follow the overarching story leading up to the Avengers franchise. However, with the expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the small screen, some fans expressed frustration over having to keep up with more titles to understand what was going on. Now, DC Universe plans to do the very same thing by connecting its movies and television projects to create one cohesive story.
Marvel Studios has since found a way to continue telling stories on the small screen, without making them necessary to watch for casual viewers. However, one has to question if the DC Universe has the intention of learning from Marvel’s mistakes before it’s too late. Can the DC Universe successfully craft an interconnected universe, like Marvel once did? Or will it have to rethink its approach before it even begins?
Marvel’s Mistakes Can be the DCU’s Blessing
While there is no denying that Marvel Studios had early success with its cohesive storytelling, fans eventually grew tired of having to watch everything to follow the story. This resulted in the studio allowing the television shows to be their own stories, and the relaunch of the Marvel Television banner. Although the shows do still tie into the films, they are not mandatory viewing, but rather expansions of the characters and their stories that fans have come to love. This is something the brand-new DC Universe should take into account when planning its own universe. Current plans have the DC Universe following in Marvel Studios’ steps, working on one giant overarching story like with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s a risky move, especially given Marvel’s own troubles with the same method. While there is always the chance that it could work, DC Studios should ultimately look at Marvel Studios’ struggles when plotting out its own universe. Especially given DC’s prior struggles to launch a planned cinematic universe.
James Gunn, who is running DC Studios with producer Peter Safran, has already worked with Marvel Studios. So, Gunn has a pretty good idea of how Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige approaches tackling a massive cinematic universe. Gunn seems eager to start anew, with both a new Superman film and a Supergirl film, already having been announced, as well as various television shows. The plan is to also have the animated titles, along with other forms of media, connect to the stories being told in the films and television shows. It’s a bold move, of course, but also working against the DC Universe is the continuation of stories that came before it, such as The Batman and a sequel to The Joker. Trying to help fans jump into a brand new cinematic universe that will require the consumption of various forms of media, while also telling separate stories that have nothing to do with the interconnected storytelling is sure to frustrate fans.
How the DC Universe’s Connected Storytelling Can Work
Although it looks like the DC Universe has plenty working against it, especially when comparing it to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s important to remember it is its own thing. This means that, just because Marvel Studios had its issues, it doesn’t mean the DC Universe will have those same problems. It is possible that DC Studios understands that the general public won’t want to follow along with another large universe.
It’s also possible that the studio understands that fans are eager for a proper DC cinematic universe after multiple failed attempts. That, of course, is one thing the DC Universe has in its favor. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe overcame its early issues, and successfully managed to launch a universe consisting of heroes that were far from household names, DC never recovered during its last attempt at building a franchise. Having launched with DC Comics’ most memorable heroes, including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and The Flash, DC attempted to craft its own universe with the Snyderverse. That, of course, failed and resulted in Warner Bros. Discovery seeking to start over by bringing in Gunn and Safran to properly launch DC Studios.
DC fans have been eagerly awaiting a cinematic universe that would allow for the release of a proper Justice League film, following the poorly received Joss Whedon film and Zack Snyder’s infamous cut of his original Justice League movie. With Gunn taking over, and trying to build a new team of heroes from scratch, DC Studios has a chance to finally rival Marvel Studios. So long as it realizes when to pull back. While Marvel Studios continues to grow its universe, it has come to understand there is such a thing as too much and has scaled back its output. As it stands, though, the DC Universe seems to be growing with each passing day. If the studio can take the time to properly grow its universe, rather than trying to play catch-up and release multiple films and television projects for the sake of doing so, it can successfully craft its own interconnected universe.
The DC Universe will officially launch with the release of Superman on July 11, 2025.
Leave a Reply