For some reason, I foolishly believed they would succeed this time. James Gunn Superman, which officially launched the DC Cinematic Universe that he led alongside Peter Safran, was a refreshing take on a somewhat inscrutable character. I had some reservations about the rest of the list Gunn offered, like following this movie with a Supergirl adventure, which turned out to be every bit of a dud I imagined – but bringing a contemporary Clark Kent to the screen was no easy feat. Gunn’s tone and sensitivity, I thought, might finally give way to the big-screen Justice League adventure we deserved.
A foolish hope, as proven by Monday’s big news: Gunn and Safran are out, in the wake of the unholy WB-Paramount-Skydance merger. Another author’s DC diet was discontinued before it could even find its footing. Once the shock of the announcement wore off, my mind immediately went to that James Franco meme, the one where he’s about to be hanged. First time?
20 years ago, the idea that superhero C-listers like Iron Man and Thor would be at the top of the film adaptation pyramid while the stars of the Justice League worked in a constant cycle of development, destruction and reconstruction, would have been laughable. That, of course, is part of what makes Kevin Feige’s MCU so impressive: not just the scale and scope of its interconnected film series, but doing it with a group of guys who have never been more popular in the greater superhero firmament. But as that regime rose, DC’s fortunes shifted – with the Christopher Nolan Bat trilogy a fine exception – and its fans had to endure one indignity after another.
We DC faithful are basically like pre-2026 Knicks fans, or pre-2004 Red Sox fans, or pre-2016 Cavs fans – take your pick. I wouldn’t even call myself that hardcore, but these are the guys I grew up with, especially as a Saturday morning cartoon watcher rather than a comic book reader. Bruce Timm Batman And Superman animated series, the way these two shows combined to create Justice League while charting bold new territories with Batman Beyond-that was my jam. It was also the time of incredible Fox shows like Spiderman And X-Menbut I never thought these two would continue to thrive while author after author tried and failed to do what Timm accomplished in front of a legion of appreciative 11-year-olds.
It dates back to Wolfgang Peterson’s aborted Batman v Superman, a Hollywood sliding-doors moment that created the conditions under which a hungry young Christopher Nolan could prove his blockbuster mettle with Batman Begins and give the greatest hero of all time a well-deserved cinematic reset. As Nolan’s stock rose, Bryan Singer’s attempt to restore the ’70s vibe with The Return of Superman collapsed almost immediately, leaving DC once again in a Highlander situation. The goodwill Nolan generated with his trilogy gave way to what we came to know as the Snyderverse, starting with Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot. Man of Steela solid film that I could never bring myself to love wholeheartedly.
Gn entert
